Emergency Physician-Administered Sedation for Pneumatic Reduction of Ileocolic Intussusception in Children: A Case Series.

BACKGROUND: Ileocolic intussusception is a major cause for intestinal obstruction in early childhood. Reduction of intussusception, in the vast majority of institutions, is performed on awake children, without sedation.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to report the course of the first patients who were sedated by emergency physicians for pneumatic reduction of intussusception (PRI).

METHODS: We conducted a case series analysis of prospectively collected data on patients undergoing PRI, using a sedation recording tool. This tool uses standardized definitions from the Quebec guidelines for terminology and reporting adverse events in emergency medicine. Recording of time interval measurements and adverse events was performed by the emergency physician and nurse.

RESULTS: Between February 2016 and March 2018, 11 males and 3 females, with a median age of 11 months (interquartile range [IQR] 6-20 months), underwent sedation for PRI by five attending pediatric emergency physicians. All of the reductions were successful and without complications. Eight patients received ketamine and propofol, 5 received ketamine, and 1 received ketamine and midazolam. Median times for the presedation phase, procedure, sedation, physiologic recovery and emergency department recovery were: 131 min (IQR 79-104 min), 10.5 min (IQR, 9-12 min), 21 min (IQR, 20-30 min), 25 min (IQR, 23-30 min), and 108 min (IQR, 82-161 min), respectively. Four respiratory adverse events that required intervention were recorded. All were effectively treated with airway repositioning, suctioning, oxygen administration, or bag-mask ventilation.

CONCLUSIONS: The first series of patients sedated for PRI by emergency physicians is reported. Our initial findings suggest the feasibility of emergency physician-administered sedation for PRI.