A nurse in an acute care facility is caring for a toddler. For each assessment finding below, click to specify if the assessment finding is consistent with Crohn’s disease, appendicitis, or intussusception. Each finding may support more than 1 disease process.

• Pain rating: The child’s history describes sudden, severe abdominal pain causing the child to draw their knees to their chest, with periods of relief between episodes. This episodic, colicky pain is classic for intussusception, as the bowel telescopes and intermittently obstructs intestinal flow. • Vomiting: The child vomited approximately 50 mL of light-colored emesis, consistent with the obstruction caused by intussusception. Vomiting can also occur in appendicitis due to peritoneal irritation, particularly if inflammation is in the right upper quadrant. • Temperature: The child has a mild fever of 37.4° C (99.3° F). This low-grade fever can indicate inflammation of the appendix, making appendicitis a consideration. Intussusception usually does not present with fever unless there is ischemia or infection, which is not indicated. • Stool: The parent reports blood and mucus in the stool, which is classic “currant jelly” stool seen in intussusception. Crohn’s disease may also present with blood and mucus due to chronic bowel inflammation, but the sudden onset and combination with severe colicky pain point more strongly toward intussusception. • Abdominal findings: On assessment, the child’s abdomen is distended with hypoactive bowel sounds and tenderness in the right upper quadrant, and a small, oblong palpable mass is noted in the same area. These findings are highly specific for intussusception, representing the telescoped segment of bowel that can be palpated as a sausage-shaped mass.