Nationwide Population-Based Epidemiologic Study on Childhood Intussusception in South Korea: Emphasis on Treatment and Outcomes

Abstract

Purpose This was a nationwide population-based study conducted to investigate the epidemiology, treatment, disease outcomes, and associated factors of childhood intussusception in South Korea. Methods Data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service database on all patients <18 years old diagnosed with intussusception from 2007 to 2017 were analyzed. Results A total of 34,688 cases were identified among 30,444 patients. The overall incidence was 28.3/100,000 person-years with a male predominance. Most cases (83.1%) occurred in children <3 years old, with an annual incidence of 195.2, 200.1, and 118.6 cases per 100,000 children in their first, second, and third year of life, respectively. The median age at the first occurrence was 18.7 months, and it was higher in boys than in girls. The post-discharge recurrence rate was 10.6% (3,226/30,444) and the in-hospital recurrence rate was 6.1% (1,842/30,444). The total recurrence rate (post-discharge recurrence and/or in-hospital recurrence) was 15.0% (4,580/30,444). Enema reduction was successful in 90.0% of cases. Enema reduction was more successful in girls than in boys. A total of 3,296 (10.8%) patients underwent 3,481 surgeries, including 735 (21.1%) laparoscopic surgeries. Post-discharge recurrence and surgery were significantly affected by age, sex, and hospital type. Mortality was noted in nine cases (0.03%). Conclusion Our study provides accurate epidemiologic data on the treatment and outcomes of intussusception through complete enumeration during an 11-year-period.

Pediatric Intussusception Following COVID-19 Infection: A Rare Presentation

“…The treatment of intussusception is a water-soluble contrast or air enema, given rectally, to reduce the telescoped bowel. Overall, 80% of pediatric intussusception cases are reducible with only one enema procedure, while 2.2% are not reducible after multiple attempts and require surgical intervention following enema failure [ 22 ]. When reducible, patients may be discharged home, although a more conservative approach is to observe patients in the hospital for 24 hours as the rate of recurrence is 6.5% when using a non-surgical approach [ 23 ].…”

The occurrence of infection-related systemic diseases in Korean children and adolescents has decreased after the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic: a multicenter retrospective study

“…However, when considering the low medical fee and easy accessibility to medical institutions in South Korea, including the fact that most of the participating centers were not dedicated COV ID-19 hospitals, it is unlikely that visits to these centers would have decreased for the aforementioned reasons. Moreover, considering the emergent medical condition of intussusception, ongoing associated long-term fever and various symptoms of MCLS, including purpura and complications in HSP, there is no doubt that the patient would have visited a medical institution (23).…”

Current diagnosis and image-guided reduction for intussusception in children

“…Intussusception typically occurs in infants and toddlers aged 3-36 months old [2][3][4][5] . The classic clinical presentation is abdominal pain, vomiting, bloody stools, and abdominal mass 6) , but it occurs in only 20% of cases, and most children do not show the complete symptom triad (abdominal pain, vomiting, and bloody stool) 7) .…”