J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2002 Dec;13(4):560-563.

Spontaneous Pneumoretroperitoneum

• Lee SL
• Ryu SY
• Kim HY

Abstract

The pneumoretroperitoneum has many etiologies. These range from the clinically insignificant to the potentially fatal, if not recognized promptly. Spontaneous pneumoretroperitoneum can develope from ulcerative colitis, colonic diverti-culitis, or duodenal ulcer perforation. It can be associated with pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum, respiratoy tract rupture, etc. An isolated pneumoretroperitoneum are a more obscure symptom than a pneumoperitoneum. Mostly, the diagnosis of retroperitoneal air depends of radiologic methods, such as simple X-ray, ultrasound (US), or computerized tomography (CT) measurements. In this case, we diagnosed a pneumoretroperitoneum from CT and found that it caused the perforation of the colon spontaneously, without any underlying diseases, due to chronic constipation without underlying diseases

Keyword

Pneumoretroperitoneum; Colon; Constipation

MeSH Terms

Colitis, Ulcerative
Colon
Constipation
Diagnosis
Duodenal Ulcer
Mediastinal Emphysema
Pneumoperitoneum
Pneumothorax
Retropneumoperitoneum*
Rupture
Ultrasonography