[Gas configuration between the liver and the right diaphragmatic dome: Chilaiditi's sign].
A 64-year-old man of Hindustan origin presented at the Emergency Department with symptoms which suggested stomach perforation. A chest X-ray taken with the patient in the upright position showed gas between the liver and the right hemidiaphragm. After 30 minutes the pain subsided spontaneously. The gas seen on the chest X-ray was diagnosed as Chilaiditi's sign, caused by interposition of the colon between the liver and the diaphragm. This interposition is usually asymptomatic and does not require surgical treatment.
Haeseker
G A
GA
Ziekenhuis Leyenburg, afd. Algemene Chirurgie, Postbus 40.551, 2545 CH Den Haag. haeseker@hotmail.com
Schmidt
G B
GB
Bruijninckx
C M A
CM
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D003108:Colonic Diseases / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003964:Diaphragm / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005414:Flatulence / Q000150:complications / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D008099:Liver / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011859:Radiography; D013577:Syndrome