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Ito S, Masuda T, Harada N, et al. Diagnostic laparoscopy for pneumatosis intestinalis in a very elderly patient: A case report. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2017;21:109-113doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2017.07.058.
Ito, S., Masuda, T., Harada, N., Matsuyama, A., Hamatake, M., Maeda, T., Tsutsui, S., Matsuda, H., Mimori, K., & Ishida, T. (2017). Diagnostic laparoscopy for pneumatosis intestinalis in a very elderly patient: A case report. Annals of medicine and surgery (2012), 21109-113. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2017.07.058
Ito, Shuhei, et al. "Diagnostic laparoscopy for pneumatosis intestinalis in a very elderly patient: A case report." Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) vol. 21 (2017): 109-113. doi: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amsu.2017.07.058
Ito S, Masuda T, Harada N, Matsuyama A, Hamatake M, Maeda T, Tsutsui S, Matsuda H, Mimori K, Ishida T. Diagnostic laparoscopy for pneumatosis intestinalis in a very elderly patient: A case report. Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2017 Jul 29;21:109-113. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2017.07.058. eCollection 2017 Sep. PMID: 28861268; PMCID: PMC5567747.
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Ann Med Surg (Lond). 2017 Jul 29;21:109-113. doi: 10.1016/j.amsu.2017.07.058. eCollection 2017 Sep.

Diagnostic laparoscopy for pneumatosis intestinalis in a very elderly patient: A case report.

Annals of medicine and surgery (2012)

Shuhei Ito, Takaaki Masuda, Noboru Harada, Ayumi Matsuyama, Motoharu Hamatake, Takashi Maeda, Shinichi Tsutsui, Hiroyuki Matsuda, Koshi Mimori, Teruyoshi Ishida

Affiliations

  1. Department of Surgery, Hiroshima Red Cross Hospital and Atomic Bomb Survivors Hospital, Hiroshima, Japan.
  2. Department of Surgery, Kyushu University Beppu Hospital, Beppu, Japan.

PMID: 28861268 PMCID: PMC5567747 DOI: 10.1016/j.amsu.2017.07.058

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Pneumatosis intestinalis is rare but may be associated with life-threatening intra-abdominal conditions such as intestinal ischemia or perforation. However, it can be difficult, particularly in the very elderly, to identify candidates for immediate surgical intervention.

PRESENTATION OF CASE: A 94-year-old man with abdominal distension underwent abdominal computed tomography, which demonstrated accumulation of air bubbles within the intestinal wall and some free intraperitoneal air, suggestive of pneumatosis intestinalis. His vital signs showed evidence of systemic inflammatory response syndrome, and laboratory examination revealed inflammation and hypoxia. As the patient was frail, with his age and concomitant conditions which may have masked the symptoms and severity of his illness, immediate diagnostic laparoscopy was performed, which confirmed the diagnosis of pneumatosis intestinalis, with multiple gas-filled cysts seen within the subserosa of the small intestine. No additional surgical procedure was performed. His symptoms improved postoperatively.

DISCUSSION: Optimal management of pneumatosis intestinalis in a timely manner requires a comprehensive evaluation of factors in each individual. In patients with severe symptoms, PI might be a sign of a life-threatening intra-abdominal emergency. Despite the contrast-enhanced CT and prediction markers in previous reports, it considered to be difficult to completely rule out these fatal conditions without surgery, especially in very elderly patients with poor performance status.

CONCLUSION: Diagnostic laparoscopy may be a useful option for definitively ruling out the lethal conditions associated with pneumatosis intestinalis in frail elderly patients with severe conditions in the emergency setting.

Keywords: Case report; Elderly; Intra-abdominal emergency; Laparoscopy; PI

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