Primary gas gangrene of the pancreas: report of a case.
Spontaneous gas gangrene of the pancreas, caused by an infection of Clostridium perfringens, is an extremely rare but severe form of acute pancreatitis. A 67-year-old man complaining of severe epigastric pain with diffuse guarding underwent an emergency laparotomy. During surgery, hemorrhagic pancreatic necrosis was observed with a large amount of peripancreatic gas. Cultures demonstrated C. perfringens. The identification of hemolysis and the accumulation of peripancreatic gas on computed tomography, which were both caused by an infection of C. perfringens, led us to make a diagnosis of clostridial infection of the pancreas.
Ikegami
Toru
T
Department of Surgery, Hiroshima Red Cross and Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital, Hiroshima 730-8619, Japan.
Kido
Akinori
A
Shimokawa
Hidehiko
H
Ishida
Teruyoshi
T
D000208:Acute Disease; D000368:Aged; D003016:Clostridium perfringens / Q000302:isolation & purification; D005738:Gas Gangrene / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010195:Pancreatitis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000382:microbiology* / Q000601:surgery; D011859:Radiography