Intussusception: recurrence following gas (oxygen) enema reduction

Over a 38-month period, prospective data were collected on all episodes of intussusception treated at the Royal Children's Hospital, Melbourne. There were 170 initial episodes for which a gas enema was performed, 127 of which were reduced successfully. Recurence occured in 10 patients following initial successful gas enema reduction, a recurrence rate of 7.9%, which compares with a recurrence rate of 8.9% with barium (P = 0.896). We conclude that the gas enema does not have a higher rate of recurrence than barium and that there is no evidence of a significant incidence of incomplete reduction unrecognised at the time of gas enema.Correspondence to: S. W. Beasley