Acute Intussusception of the Adult in Burkina Faso, a Tropical Area: Our Experience about 30 Cases

Abstract

Objective : To describe th e etiological, clinical and therapeutic aspects of adults’ intussusception at Yalgado Ouedraogo University Hospital in Ouagadougou (CHU-YO), Burkina Faso. Patients and method: This descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted between May 2011 and April 2016 at CHU-YO. All patients with 16 years of age and older operated on for intussusception were included. Results: Thirty patients were identified, 15 men and as many women. Their average age was 37.3 years. A higher frequency was noted between 30 and 39 years. The installation of the symptomatology was insidious in 22 cases and brutal in 8 cases. The reasons for consultation were abdominal pain (30 cases), vomiting (19 cases), intestinal transit stop (18 cases) and rectorrhagia (9 cases). Physical examination noted an abdominal mass in 11 cases and a localized abdominal tenderness in 7 cases. An intussusception coil was identified on ultrasound in 9 cases. All patients underwent surgery under general anesthesia and the approach was laparotomy. Intraoperatively, the intussusception was ileocolic in 15 cases; a right hemi - colectomy was performed. It was colo-colic intussusception in 10 cases and the treatment thus consisted of a left hemi-colectomy. In other 5 cases, intussusception was ileal, requiring ileal resection. The average hospital stay was 11.7 days. Pathologically, the examination was normal in 2 cases. A colic tumor was found in 14 cases and an ileum tumor in 6 cases. In the other 8 cases, it was an inflammatory aspect of the intestine. Conclusion: In tropical Burkina Faso, adult intussusception often occurs on an intestinal tumor. The symptomatology is atypical.