Intussusception in early childhood: a cohort study of 1.7 million children

OBJECTIVE: To describe incidence and temporal trends of intussusceptions in Danish children during 1980 to 2001.

METHODS: A population-based cohort study was conducted of 1.67 million children who were younger than 5 years during 1980 to 2001 and were followed up for 6.66 million person-years. The Danish National Patient Registry was used to identify cases of intussusception in the cohort. Age-specific incidence rates were main outcome measure.

RESULTS: A total of 1814 cases of intussusception among children who were younger than 5 years were reported from 1980 to 2001. The incidence rate remained fairly constant during 1980 to 1990 but decreased by 55% (95% confidence interval: 43%-65%) from 1990 to 2001. The reduction was most pronounced among children aged 3 to 5 months.

CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of intussusception among Danish children declined significantly during the 1990s, particularly among infants 3 to 5 months of age.