Use of ultrasound in diagnosing postoperative small-bowel intussusception in pediatric surgical oncology patients: a single-center retrospective review

Abstract

Background: Postoperative intussusception can be a complication of abdominal surgery and often poses a diagnostic dilemma.

Objective: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the utility of ultrasonography in the diagnosis of intussusception in children who had recently undergone resection of a primary solid tumor.

Materials and methods: We performed a retrospective review of all pediatric surgical oncology patients undergoing laparotomy for excision of an abdominal tumor at our institution from 1995 to 2015. We reviewed those with documented postoperative intussusception. In addition we searched the radiology database for all ultrasound examinations requested to rule out postoperative intussusception during our study interval. We analyzed demographics, primary diagnosis, surgical procedure, presentation, diagnostic investigations and definitive treatment.

Results: At our institution 852 laparotomies for abdominal tumor resection were performed during the study period, resulting in 10 postoperative intussusceptions (1.2% of cases), of which half were following neuroblastoma resection and the other half following nephrectomy for Wilms tumor. Postoperative intussusception was suspected if the patient had increasing nasogastric output, abdominal distension or feeding intolerance. Ultrasound was used to diagnose intussusception in 9/10 cases, on postoperative day 6 (standard deviation [SD] 5.6 days) on average, with a sensitivity of 89% (8/9; one false negative; 95% confidence interval [CI] 0.52, 1.00) and a specificity of 100% (no false positives; 95% CI 0.96, 1.00).

Conclusion: Ultrasound was highly accurate in diagnosing postoperative intussusception in children who underwent resection of retroperitoneal tumors.

Keywords: Cancer; Children; Intussusception; Oncology; Postoperative; Ultrasound.