Intussusception for Certified Emergency Nursing (CEN)
Included In This Lesson
Study Tools For Intussusception for Certified Emergency Nursing (CEN)
Outline
Intussusception
Definition/Etiology:
- Bowel segment telescopes into an adjacent bowel segment
- More common in pediatric patients but can also happen in adults!
- Kids = Infections, anatomical factors, idiopathic. Most common under 18 months of age
- Adults = Mass, post-surgical adhesions, G/J tube
Pathophysiology:
- Bowel segment slides in on itself which can disrupt blood flow, causes necrosis and/or sepsis.
- With the diminished blood supply, tissue in the intestines dies. This may progress to a perforation, which is a common cause of peritonitis
Clinical Presentation:
- Abdominal Pain- (kids and babies may draw their knees up)
- N/V
- Bloody stool – RED CURRANT JELLY
- *SAUSAGE SHAPED MASS* (upon visualization or palpation)
- Bloating
Collaborative Management:
- Abdominal CTAbdominal US (usually used more in pediatric
patients) - Abdominal X-ray
- Labs
- NPO status
- Surgical intervention for adults
- Enema in children/surgery if ineffective
- Pain management
- Antiemetic
- Fluids
Evaluation | Patient Monitoring | Education:
- Treatment is effective when adults are in the OR and children’s symptoms have resolved with no interception present on the US.
- Children have about a 10% recurrence rate in the first 24 hours.
Linchpins: (Key Points)
- Most common in children <18 months old
- Children get enemas/adults get surgery
- Red currant jelly stool
- Sausage shaped mass
Transcript
For more great CEN prep, got to the link below to purchase the “Emergency Nursing Examination Review” book by Dr. Laura Gasparis Vonfrolio RN, PHD
https://greatnurses.com/
References:
- Brill, A., & Lopez, R. A. (2022). Intussusception in adults. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.
- Jain, S., & Haydel, M. J. (2022). Child intussusception. In StatPearls [Internet]. StatPearls Publishing.