Radiographic reduction of intussusception in patients with cystic fibrosis

Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a genetic disorder affecting approximately one in 2,500 births in the United States. Nearly 1% of patients with CF will develop intussusception, which is commonly ileocecal and felt to be secondary to inspissated feces. These patients generally present before the age of ten. Once the diagnosis of intussusception is confirmed on ultrasound or CT, surgery has been the mainstay of treatment in this patient group. We propose the use of air and contrast enemas as effective and beneficial non-operative approach in these patients. Clinical and imaging findings in four children with known CF who presented with intestinal intussusception, average age 13.25 ± 5.3 years (range 8–18 years) were reviewed. Patients were diagnosed using ultrasound (n = 3) or abdominal CT (n = 1). All patients suffered from an ileocolic intussusception. Air and Gastrografin® enemas were used in an attempt to reduce the intussusception. There were six separate successful intussusception reductions in four patients. Three patients required multiple attempts (2.3 ± 0.6). Air enemas were used initially in all cases. Gastrografin® was used successfully following the failure of air enema in one patient. One patient suffered three separate intussusceptions over a period of 18 months, which were all successfully reduced using air. There were no complications and the patients tolerated the procedure well. Intussusception is an uncommon but serious complication in children with CF. While surgical reduction has been the mainstay of treatment for these patients, we demonstrated that reduction of an intussusception using air or contrast can be accomplished safely, without anesthesia, and should be the initial treatment option.