Childhood intussusception in Benin City, Nigeria.

The clinical and radiological features of 24 cases of childhood intussusception presenting at the University of Benin Teaching Hospital are analysed. Nineteen (79%) children presented before the age of one year and the main symptoms were vomiting 87%, passage of bloody stool 62%, abdominal pain 50% and palpable abdominal mass 33%. The commonest aetiologic agent was ascariasis which was seen in three children. Radiological examination was found most useful in selecting patients for barium hydrostactic reduction, and a case is made for the use of the latter procedure in the treatment of childhood intussusception in developing countries. The high case fatality rate of 25% is related to the late presentation of children to hospital.