Incidence of recurrent intussusception in young children: A nationwide readmissions analysis.

BACKGROUND/PURPOSE: Recurrent intussusception following successful nonoperative reduction has previously been reported with a frequency of 8%-12% based on data from individual institutions. Meanwhile, the timing of discharge after successful reduction continues to be debated. Here, we evaluate readmissions for recurrent intussusception in young children using a large-scale national database.

METHODS

The National Readmissions Database (2010-2014) was queried to identify young children (age < 5 years) diagnosed with intussusception. We compared procedures performed during the index admission and frequency of readmissions for recurrent intussusception. Results were weighted for national estimates.

RESULTS

We identified 8289 children diagnosed with intussusception during an index admission. These patients received definitive treatment with nonoperative reduction alone (43%), surgical reduction (42%), or bowel resection (15%). Readmission for recurrent intussusception was required for 3.7% of patients managed with nonoperative reduction alone, 2.3% of patients that underwent surgical reduction, and 0% of those that underwent bowel resection. Median time to readmission was 4 days after nonoperative reduction, and only 1.5% of these patients experienced recurrence within 48 h of discharge.

CONCLUSIONS

Recurrent intussusception may be substantially less common than previously reported. Our findings support the practice of discharge shortly after successful nonoperative reduction.

TYPE OF STUDY: Retrospective, prognosis study.

LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: III.