Intussusception — structured clinical encounter

Station 1 — assessment and recognition

Asked for my first impression, I explain that a previously well seven-month-old with rhythmic episodes of screaming, pallor and drawing up the knees, a drowsy interval between them, and vomiting has the classic pattern of intussusception. I would observe him through an episode and palpate during the quiet interval, where the firm sausage-shaped mass in his right upper quadrant makes the diagnosis highly likely. I would grade him as mildly to moderately dehydrated from the vomiting and assess his perfusion. ^{[1] [2]}