Nonischemic intussusception.

Nonischemic intussusception is defined as a variant of acute intussusception exhibiting less acute symptoms of abdominal pain, vomiting, and diarrhea in the older child, longer duration of symptoms (usually 4-14 days), signs of imcomplete bowel obstruction, and absence of intestinal ischemia. Over a 10 yr period (1964-1973) 20 children with this disease were treated without mortality or recurrence at three children's hospitals in Chicago, Illinois. The higher incidence of diarrhea, the lower incidence of a palpable abdominal mass, and the lower incidence of blood per rectum in nonischemic intussusception predispose to diagnostic errors and delays in treatment. Despite the longer duration of symptoms, this variant of intussusception can be treated initially with a careful attempt at barium hydrostatic reduction. If this fails, easy operative manual reduction is the rule.