Ultrasound Guided Saline Hydrostatic Reduction: A Non-Surgical Procedure for the Management of Intussusception in Children

Introduction: Intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction in infant & toddler age group. Intussusception is the telescoping of one segment of bowel into the contiguous distal segment. Peak age incidence is between 2 months to 3 years of life. Objective of the study: To prove the efficacy of Ultrasound guided saline hydrostatic reduction, a non surgical, non radiation method in the management of intussusception in children. Materials and methods: Fifty-three children in the age group of 2 months to 3 years with clinical diagnosis of intussusception on whom the Ultrasonogram (USG) guided hydrostatic reduction with normal saline were attempted. 500 1000 ml of normal saline was used for reduction. High resolution USG (7.5 MHz) was used to assess the progress of reduction during the procedure. Results: Our initial experience in the last six years from April 2007 to March 2013 showed successful reduction in 45 children out of 53 attempted reductions.