Intussusception occurs when one portion of bowel ‘telescopes’ into another due to a lead point created by a range of benign or pathologic process. Intussusception mostly occurs in children. Although adult intussusception (AI) is rare, accounting for <5% of intestinal obstructions, it is more concerning in adults as malignancy accounts for nearly 65% of lead points in AI. Patients present with severe abdominal pain concerning for an acute abdomen along with a degree of bowel obstruction. We have experienced a total of 11 patients within recent years presenting with symptoms of an acute abdomen due to AI. None of these patients were found to have a pathologic process creating a lead point. However, we found that all of them were marijuana users. In this report, we compare their management, hospital course and review of the literature discussing proposed mechanisms that suggest an association between cannabis and intussusception.

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A 43 year old female presented to the emergency department for nausea, vomiting and abdominal pain secondary to a bowel obstruction subsequently revealed to be a poorly differentiated large cell neuroendocrine tumor of the colon. After a CT scan showed a mass in the ascending colon with possible metastasis to the right lobe of the liver, an exploratory laparotomy was performed. A hemicolectomy was performed with biopsy of the liver mass. Pathology was consistent with large cell neuroendocrine tumor in all specimens including the liver biopsy, ascending colon, and transverse colon. Although large cell neuroendocrine tumors of the colon are a rare malignancy, they are an important consideration in the workup of multiple colonic masses with metastases, especially in patients presenting with bowel obstruction. The literature on poorly differentiated large cell neuroendocrine cancer and treatment is reviewed. Poorly differentiated large cell neuroendocrine tumor is a rare pathology but should be included in the differential diagnosis in patients presenting with a colon mass and bowel obstruction.

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