Iyassu Senay, Abraha Million
Department of Surgery, Orotta National Referral Hospital, Asmara, Eritrea.
Faculty of Medicine, Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine (ISPM), Bern, 3012, Switzerland.
F1000Res. 2019 Jan 14;8:55. doi: 10.12688/f1000research.17670.2. eCollection 2019.
A 38-year-old woman presented at Orotta National Referral Hospital emergency department in May 2017 with pain in the epigastric region and vomiting. Physical examination revealed no pertinent findings. Blood and urine tests were normal, and erect abdominal x-ray revealed a distended small intestine with multiple layers of "air-fluid levels". CT scan and MRI were not done due to their temporary unavailability. During laparotomy a large mass of 20x20 cm in size was detected in the mid-jejunum of the small intestine. This leading tumor caused intussusception and coiling of the small intestine. As there are no typical symptoms of intussusception, it is very important to do CT scan for patients with long-standing abdominal pain and vomiting to achieve a definitive diagnosis of intussusception.