Incidence of Ileocecal Intussusception
Ileocecal intussusception has dramatically different incidence rates between children and adults: it is the most frequent cause of intestinal obstruction in childhood, while in adults it represents only 1% of all bowel obstructions with an incidence of approximately 2-3 cases per 1,000 per year. 1, 2
Pediatric Incidence
- Intussusception is the most common cause of intestinal obstruction during childhood 3
- The condition occurs most frequently in infants and young children, though specific incidence rates per population are not provided in the available evidence
- Pediatric intussusception occurs 20 times more frequently than adult intussusception (ratio of 20:1) 4
- The condition can occur in very young children, with inflammatory bowel disease cases documented in children as young as 2.5 years of age 5
Adult Incidence
- Adult intussusception is extremely rare, accounting for 1 in 30,000 of all hospital admissions 4
- The worldwide incidence is approximately 2 per 1,000 cases per year 1
- Adult intussusception represents only 1 in 1,300 of all abdominal operations 4
- It accounts for 1 in 30 to 1 in 100 of all cases operated for intestinal obstruction 4
- Among all intussusception cases (children and adults combined), only 5% occur in adults 3
Location-Specific Patterns
- In adults, ileocolic intussusception represents approximately 40% of cases (6 out of 15 cases in one series) 4
- Enteric intussusception is slightly more common in adults at 53% of cases (8 out of 15 cases) 4
- Colonic intussusception is the least common at 7% of cases (1 out of 15 cases) 4
Critical Clinical Distinction
The key difference between pediatric and adult ileocecal intussusception is the underlying pathology: children typically have idiopathic disease, while adults have an identifiable organic lesion in up to 70% of cases, with all ileocolic lesions being malignant in some series. 3, 4