RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Intussusception encephalopathy, a misleading form in which neurological symptoms are obvious, is classic but rarely described. CASE REPORT: A 21 month-old infant was admitted because he had suffered from fluctuating consciousness and apathy for a few hours. Vomiting occurred soon afterwards. Search for dehydration, meningitis, encephalitis, poisoning... was negative; the abdomen was tender leading to ultrasonography that showed a sausage-shaped tumor. The ileocolic intussusception was successfully reduced with a gas enema. CONCLUSION: A striking degree of lethargy associated with vomiting may overshadow to a considerable extent the classical intestinal manifestations. A possible endogenous opioid poisoning by massive secretion of endorphins during pain's paroxysm is one of the hypotheses explaining this type of presentation.
Asunto(s)
Encefalopatías/etiología , Enfermedades del Íleon/diagnóstico , Intususcepción/diagnóstico , Fases del Sueño , Enfermedad Aguda , Endorfinas/metabolismo , Endorfinas/farmacología , Humanos , Enfermedades del Íleon/complicaciones , Enfermedades del Íleon/terapia , Lactante , Intususcepción/complicaciones , Intususcepción/terapia , MasculinoRESUMEN
We present a case of spinal cord injury due to birth trauma and assess the value of sonography for diagnosis, lesion characterization, and follow-up. Sonography is a non-invasive and easily reproducible imaging method for examining a ventilated child, and its initial sensitivity is comparable to that of MRI. Sonography is the method of choice for guiding diagnosis in this type of traumatic lesion to the newborn.