Symptoms and Treatments of Intussusception

7. 7. Treatment: Enema

In young children with intussusception, an air or barium enema is the first line of treatment. In this procedure, the colon is filled with contrast material that is visible on an x-ray. This helps to confirm the diagnosis, but often, the procedure itself fixes the problem.

In 90% of cases, children aged five months to 3 years are responsive to nonoperative procedures, like the air or barium enema.

In up to 10% of cases, intussusception recurs within 24 hours, and the treatment needs to be repeated.