Painless intussusception and altered mental status

A 7-month-old child presented to the emergency department (ED) with 2 hours of painless, nonprojectile emesis and a normal mental status. Over a 3-hou r period in the ED, the child remained pain-free, but developed hematemesis , hematochezia, and lethargy, progressing to unresponsiveness, The patient was evaluated for toxic ingestion, intracranial bleed, sepsis/meningitis, a nd intraabdominal pathology, The diagnosis was made by an abdominal ultraso und, which demonstrated an ileal-cecal intussusception that ultimately requ ired surgical reduction, This case illustrates an insidious and poorly unde rstood presentation of a common childhood affliction, as well as the utilit y of abdominal ultrasound in evaluating a hemodynamically stable patient wi th intussusception. Copyright (C) 1999 by W.B. Saunders Company.