The well-nourished infant with intussusception. Fact or fallacy?
J. S. Janik, J. Cranford and S. H. Ein
To assess the nutritional status of children with intussusception, the
weight, length, and weight-for-length percentiles of 100 children with
intussusception and 100 children admitted to the hospital for elective
surgery was determined and compared with the National Center for Health
Statistics standards. Of the children with intussusception, 26% were found
to have a weight-for-length ratio below the fifth percentile while only 11%
of the children admitted for elective surgery had ratios below the fifth
percentile. This difference could not be explained by duration of symptoms,
vomiting, or diarrhea. Therefore, although children with intussusception
may appear "well nourished" they are no better nourished than the general
population and, in fact, a significant number exhibit anthropometric data
suggestive of malnourishment.
