Jejunojejunal intussusception in an adult: a rare presentation of abdominal pain in the emergency department

Abstract

Abdominal pain is a common presentation to the emergency department (ED) and the differential diagnoses is broad. Intussusception is more common in children, with only 5% of cases reported in adults. 80%–90% of adult intussusception is due to a well-defined lesion resulting in a lead point, whereas in children, most cases are idiopathic. The most common site of involvement in adults is the small bowel. Treatment in adults is generally operative management whereas in children, a more conservative approach is taken with non-operative reduction. We present a case of a 54-year-old woman who presented to our ED with severe abdominal pain and vomiting. CT of the abdomen revealed a jejunojejunal intussusception. The patient had an urgent laparoscopy and small bowel resection of the intussusception segment was performed. Histopathological examination of the resected specimen found no pathologic lead point and, therefore, the intussusception was determined to be idiopathic.