Pneumoperitoneum recurring concomitantly with asthmatic exacerbation.
We report a patient with pneumoperitoneum that recurred concomitantly with asthmatic exacerbation. The patient was a 71-year-old man with a medical history of bronchial asthma. Chest X-rays obtained during asthmatic exacerbation showed intra-abdominal air beneath his diaphragm. Subsequently, a computed tomography scan of his chest confirmed mediastinal emphysema and intra-abdominal air beneath his diaphragm. The intra-abdominal air disappeared after his asthmatic exacerbation was relieved by treatment. The patient showed recurrent pneumoperitoneum concomitant with asthmatic exacerbation. The cause of his pneumoperitoneum was conjectured to be the movement of air from the mediastinum to the peritoneal cavity through the sternocostal triangle.
Sekiya
Kiyoshi
K
Department of Respiratory Medicine, Toho University Medical Center, Tokyo. k-sekiya@sagamihara-hosp.gr.jp
Hojyo
Takako
T
Yamada
Hiroyuki
H
Toyama
Katsuhiro
K
Ryo
Hidetomi
H
Kimura
Kazuhiro
K
Taniguchi
Masami
M
Homma
Sakae
S
D000368:Aged; D001249:Asthma / Q000150:complications* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008478:Mediastinal Emphysema / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D011027:Pneumoperitoneum / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000209:etiology*; D011859:Radiography; D012008:Recurrence; D012720:Severity of Illness Index