A nationwide comparative study of pediatric and adult intussusception in emergency departments during the COVID-19.

ABSTRACT: Intussusception is a common cause of acute abdominal pain among children presenting to emergency departments, but it is rare in adults, with distinct clinical and epidemiological patterns. However, large-scale comparative data are scarce, and the impact of infectious disease remains poorly understood. We analyzed nationwide emergency department data from South Korea (2019-2023) to compare cross-age clinical characteristics and investigate temporal trends associated with infectious disease incidence, using COVID-19 social distancing as a natural experiment. Among 14,723 cases, 80.8% were pediatric patients, peaking at ages 1-4, while adult cases were evenly distributed. Children presented to higher-level centers, whereas adults required hospitalization with higher clinical acuity. Vomiting

SUBMITTER: Kim DU 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12464238 | biostudies-literature | 2025 Sep

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature