Bowel intussusception in adult: Prevalence, diagnostic tools and therapy
Francesco Panzera, Beatrice Di Venere, Marina Rizzi, Assunta Biscaglia, Carlos Alberto Praticò, Gennaro Nasti, Andrea Mardighian, Thiago Franchi Nunes, Riccardo Inchingolo
Abstract
Intussusception is defined as invagination of one segment of the bowel into an immediately adjacent segment. The intussusception refers to the proximal segment that invaginates into the distal segment, or the intussusception (recipient segment). Intussusception, more common occur in the small bowel and rarely involve only the large bowel. In direct contrast to pediatric etiologies, adult intussusception is associated with an identifiable cause in almost all the symptomatic cases while the idiopathic causes are extremely rare. As there are many common causes of acute abdomen, intussusception should be considered when more frequent etiologies have been ruled out. In this review, we discuss the symptoms, location, etiology, characteristics, diagnostic methods and treatment strategies of this rare and enigmatic clinical entity in adult.