title: Atypical distribution of pneumatosis intestinalis in a patient with AIDS.
abstract: An adult patient who had AIDS was admitted to hospital following a fall in which they sustained a T12 vertebral fracture. The patient incidentally was found to have pneumatosis intestinalis upon a thoracolumbar radiograph taken approximately 2 weeks after their admission to the hospital. At this point in time the patient reported having diarrhoea and a distended abdomen. The patient did not have any other medical history of note. Upon examination the patient appeared comfortable. The patient's abdomen was distended but soft and non-tender. Laboratory investigations revealed a chronic normocytic anaemia and neutropenia. It was likely that the pneumatosis intestinalis was AIDS related. A CT scan confirmed its presence but revealed an atypical distribution. Despite its dramatic appearance, the patient was successfully managed conservatively and remained well during admission.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Surgery, Homerton University Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. vernonsivarajah@nhs.net
authors.forename: Vernon
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Sivarajah
authors.forename: Nitin Kumar
authors.initials: NK
authors.lastname: Ramamurthy
authors.forename: Susan
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Rowe
authors.forename: Kalpana
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Devalia
mesh_terms: D000163:Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome / Q000150:complications; D000328:Adult; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011006:Pneumatosis Cystoides Intestinalis / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000209:etiology; D011859:Radiography
references.citation: J Clin Gastroenterol. 1996 Jun;22(4):311-2
references.pmid: 8771430
references.citation: AJR Am J Roentgenol. 2007 Jun;188(6):1604-13
references.pmid: 17515383
references.citation: Am J Roentgenol Radium Ther. 1946 Oct;56:464-9
references.pmid: 21000818
references.citation: Dis Colon Rectum. 1986 May;29(5):358-63
references.pmid: 3516602
references.citation: Pediatr Infect Dis J. 1998 Apr;17(4):355-6
references.pmid: 9576399
references.citation: Hum Pathol. 1985 Jul;16(7):683-8
references.pmid: 4007844
references.citation: AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1995 Dec;165(6):1387-90
references.pmid: 7484571
references.citation: Am J Gastroenterol. 1998 Apr;93(4):646-50
references.pmid: 9576465
references.citation: AJR Am J Roentgenol. 1984 Sep;143(3):549-54
references.pmid: 6331733
references.citation: Clin Radiol. 1992 Dec;46(6):410-1
references.pmid: 1493657
references.citation: Eur Radiol. 1998;8(8):1499
references.pmid: 9853244