Intussusception — A Radiological Study

Abstract

The value of radiological investigation in intussusception is insufficiently appreciated by clinicians in this country. This paper is written in the hope that radiologists may be stimulated to prove to their colleagues that radiology has a distinct rôle in the diagnosis of intussusception and, in certain cases, also has a therapeutic value. The writer has, from time to time, shown case illustrations of intussusception at the Medical Meetings of the British Institute of Radiology, and it has been obvious from the interest shown that few radiologists in this country are requested to assist in the diagnosis or treatment of intussusception. The writer has now made personal observation of fifteen cases of intussusception in children and adults since 1933. As no important paper on the radiological aspects of intussusception has yet appeared in the British literature, this review is offered. It is intended to give a brief account of the pathology and clinical features of intussusception: this will be followed by a detailed review of the radiological features, illustrated by a selection from the cases personally observed. Most surgical text-books dismiss the diagnosis of intussusception as presenting no difficulties and state that the treatment should invariably be operative. It is hoped to show that X-ray investigation provides not only a certain method of diagnosis but also a highly useful and controlled method of treatment. Most pædiatricians will admit, after critical thought, that the diagnosis is by no means always easy and that laparotomy is occasionally performed in infants with negative findings.