Unlike childhood intussusception diagnosis of adult intussusception requires time and usually not made before laparotomy. It is largely due to the facts that the clinical picture in adults is not typical and the incidence of the adult
intussusception is
low. It constitutes approximately 5% of all intussusception and accounts for 5% of all cases of intestinal obstruction in adult. This is a retrospective study of 192 cases of Korean adult intussusception. At first, we reviewed already published
reports
of adult intussusception in Korea and collected 177 cases. Another 15 cases are our own experiences in 3 Korea Universisty hospitals from 1981 to 1990. As comparing our data with those of western, there are some differences in clinical pictures.
Time
interval from the onset of the symptom to operation was shorter than that of western. Ileocolic type (42.9%) is most common and colocolic type (13.2%) is less than that(17~33.3%) of western. In west, predisposing factors are found in about 75% of
cases.
On the contrary in Korea, the rate does not reach that high. Controversy in optimal surgical approach in the management of adult intussusception persists. In west, 2/3 of colonic intussusception are associated with primary carcinoma of the colon
and 1/3
of the intussusception of the small intestine are harbiners of malignancy. Many western authors advocate primary surgical reduction without reduction in all adult patients with intussusception, regardless of their anatomic sites. But in Korea,
cancer
has a minority in predisposing factors(8.9%). Thus, early diagnosis and prompt operation will make it possible to reduce the incidence of the intestinal resection in many cases of Korean adult intussusception.
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