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 at- tempted reductions.