Ileocolonic intussusception in an adolescent patient with cystic fibrosis

Abstract

Intestinal intussusception occurs when a proximal segment of the intestine telescopes into the lumen of an adjacent distal segment, causing intestinal obstruction. It is a common cause of acute abdomen in the first two years of life, but rare in older children. A 16-year-old male with a diagnosis of cystic fibrosis presented with symptoms compatible with distal intestinal occlusion syndrome. He came at the cystic fibrosis clinic with a 5-day evolution of abdominal pain and a palpable mass in the right hypochondrium. Abdominal ultrasound and abdominal contrasted tomography were performed demonstrating ileocolonic invagination with signs of intestinal ischemia, necrosis and pneumatosis of the intestinal wall. He underwent surgery with resection of the terminal ileum and right hemicolon, and a tumor in the caecum was found. This is a rare cause of acute abdomen in young patients with cystic fibrosis and may be associated with an underlying organic cause.