Intussusception as Rare Presenting Sign of Pediatric Celiac Disease: A Case Series

Abstract

Intussusception is the most common cause of gastrointestinal obstruction in children and typically presents with acute abdominal pain. Intussusception usually occurs in children under the age of 3 in the ileocecal region. Over the past 5 years, multiple patients at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia have been diagnosed with both intussusception and biopsy-confirmed celiac disease (CD). Intussusception may be a presenting sign of pediatric CD and should raise clinical suspicion for celiac screening, especially if it is a small bowel-small bowel intussusception that occurs after the age of 3 in a malnourished patient.