title: Spontaneous pneumoperitoneum after pneumonia in a child.
abstract: Pneumoperitoneum is considered to be a surgical emergency as it nearly always indicates a perforated abdominal viscus. However, in rare cases, the presence of 'free gas under diaphragm' may not imply the need for emergent laparotomy, as pneumoperitoneum can occur without any gastrointestinal leakage. Here we report a rare case of a previously healthy boy with pneumoperitoneum associated with pneumonia and perform a review of the literature to explore the etiological mechanisms and the pathophysiology of non-surgical pneumoperitoneum.
authors.affiliation: Department of Surgery, University of Hong Kong Medical Centre, Queen Mary Hospital, Hong Kong SAR, China.
authors.forename: Daniel T I
authors.initials: DT
authors.lastname: Chan
authors.forename: Kenneth K Y
authors.initials: KK
authors.lastname: Wong
authors.forename: Paul K H
authors.initials: PK
authors.lastname: Tam
mesh_terms: D002675:Child, Preschool; D006723:Hong Kong; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D011014:Pneumonia / Q000150:complications*; D011027:Pneumoperitoneum / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology*