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Emerg Med Australas · Dec 2010
Case ReportsSpontaneous pneumoperitoneum: diagnostic and management difficulties.
- Caroline M Mann, Chandra S Bhati, David Gemmell, Peter Doyle, Vibhore Gupta, and David F Gorman.
- Emergency Department, University Hospital Birmingham NHS Trust, Birmingham, UK. carolinemmann@yahoo.co.uk
- Emerg Med Australas. 2010 Dec 1;22(6):568-70.
AbstractAcute abdominal pain is a common presentation to the ED. Most patients undergo a chest radiograph as part of their initial investigations, which occasionally reveals pneumoperitoneum. Pneumoperitoneum on imaging suggests a perforated hollow abdominal viscus and therefore often constitutes a surgical emergency. However, if the patient is neither peritonitic nor septic a management dilemma is faced. Some cases of pneumoperitoneum might be managed conservatively thus avoiding unnecessary laparotomy. We present a case of recurrent spontaneous pneumoperitoneum with abdominal pain that was managed conservatively and discuss the possible aetiologies and management issues of spontaneous pneumoperitoneum.© 2010 The Authors. EMA © 2010 Australasian College for Emergency Medicine and Australasian Society for Emergency Medicine.
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