A comprehensive scoring system for the better prediction of bowel resection in pediatric intussusception

Intussusception presents a significant emergency that often necessitates bowel resection, leading to severe complications and management challenges. This study aims to investigate and establish a scoring system to enhance the prediction of bowel resection necessity in pediatric intussusception patients.

This retrospective study analyzed 660 hospitalized patients with intussusception who underwent surgical management at a pediatric hospital in Southwest China from April 2008 to December 2020. The necessity of bowel resection was assessed and categorized in this cohort. Variables associated with bowel resection were examined using univariate and multivariate logistic regression analyses. Based on these analyses, a scoring system was developed, grounded on the summation of the coefficients (β).

Among the 660 patients meeting the inclusion criteria, 218 required bowel resection during surgery. Bowel resection occurrence was linked to an extended duration of symptoms (Odds Ratio [OR] = 2.14; 95% Confidence Interval [CI], 1.03–5.23; P = 0.0015), the presence of gross bloody stool (OR = 8.98; 95% CI, 1.76–48.75, P < 0.001), elevated C-reactive protein levels (OR = 4.79; 95% CI, 1.12–28.31, P = 0.0072), lactate clearance rate (LCR) (OR = 17.25; 95% CI, 2.36–80.35; P < 0.001), and the intussusception location (OR = 12.65; 95% CI, 1.46–62.67, P < 0.001), as determined by multivariate logistic regression analysis. A scoring system (totaling 14.02 points) was developed from the cumulative β coefficients, with a threshold of 5.22 effectively differentiating infants requiring surgical intervention from others with necrotizing enterocolitis (NEC), exhibiting a sensitivity of 78.3% and a specificity of 71.9%.

This study successfully identified multiple risk factors for bowel resection and effectively used a scoring system to identify patients for optimal clinical management.