Ultrasonographic Diagnosis of Intussusception in the Emergency Department

Authors

  • CPT. Katherine D. Percy Department of Emergency Medicine, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, 36000 Darnall Loop, Fort Hood, TX 76544, USA
  • Lt. Col. Massimo D. Federico Department of Emergency Medicine, Carl R. Darnall Army Medical Center, 36000 Darnall Loop, Fort Hood, TX 76544, USA
  • Larry B. Mellick Department of Emergency Medicine, Augusta University, Health Sciences Campus, AF-1020, 1120 15

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.17140/EMOJ-3-132

Keywords:

Intussusception, Ileocolic, Vomiting, Diarrhea, Pediatric, Target, Bulls eye, Ul trasound

Abstract

Distinguishing life-threatening causes of vomiting and diarrhea in infants is challenging. The ability to quickly and accurately differentiate causes of the acute abdomen at the bedside with out radiation exposure is an extremely valuable skill. Ultrasound is quickly becoming first line for many differentials of the acute abdomen including intussusception, appendicitis, and pyloric stenosis. Volvulus and mesenteric adenitis can also often be seen. This report details a case of pediatric intussusception diagnosed in the emergency department by emergency medicine clinicians. Additionally, we review the best technical approach to finding an intussusceptions using ultrasound. The sensitivity and specificity of ultrasound for intussusception approaches 100% with an experienced sonographer. Harnessing this skill has the potential to save a significant amount of time and lives.

References

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Published

2017-01-17

How to Cite

CPT. Katherine D. Percy, Lt. Col. Massimo D. Federico, & Larry B. Mellick. (2017). Ultrasonographic Diagnosis of Intussusception in the Emergency Department. Emergency Medicine, 3(1), 11–13. https://doi.org/10.17140/EMOJ-3-132

Issue

Vol. 3 No. 1 (2017): Volume 3 Issue 1 2017

Section

Articles

License

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

All content published in Emergency Medicine (EM) is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This license allows anyone to copy, distribute, transmit, and adapt the work — including for commercial purposes — provided appropriate credit is given to the original author(s) and source.