[Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis: a case report and literature review]. / Kistoznyi pnevmatoz tonkoi kishki: klinicheskii sluchai i obzor literatury.

Pneumatosis cystoides was first described by Du Vernay in 1783. This is a fairly rare disease with nonspecific symptoms and CT data on pneumoperitoneum. The authors present pneumatosis intestinalis in a patient with systemic connective tissue disorder. Free gas in abdominal cavity and dilated intestinal loops were an indication for emergency surgery with subsequent resection of intestine due to signs of ischemic damage. A review of clinical cases allows us to conclude that pneumoperitoneum requires careful differential diagnosis. Free gas in abdominal cavity in patients with cystic pneumatosis is an indication for emergency surgery only in case of complicated course of disease.

Nuevo método como preacondicionamiento ante adherenciolisis de difícil manejo / New method as preconditioning for adherenciolysis difficult handling

INTRODUCTION: Intestinal obstruction due to flanges is common in patients with a surgical history. OBJECTIVE: Describe a clinical case with adherenciolysis. Surgery could not be performed, so pneumoperitoneum was used as pre-conditioning for elective surgery. CLINICAL CASE: Patient with intestinal obstruction due to flanges, with impossibility of performing an adherenciolysis, for which catheters are installed to administer progressive pneumoperitoneum in order to optimize the release of flanges in elective surgery, undergoing the postoperative period with enterocutaneous fistula that required multidisciplinary management with percutaneous drainage, parenteral nutrition and nursing care, with a successful result. DISCUSSION: In a flange obstruction, an extensive adherenciolysis is often required, which carries a greater risk of intestinal injury and enterocutaneous fistula. In this case, we believe that it decreased due to the pneumoperitoneum used to generate more lax and manageable flanges. CONCLUSION: Postoperative flanges generate significant morbidity and its surgical management requires an adherenciolysis that may be laborious or impossible in the first instance, requiring in this case the use of progressive pneumoperitoneum for complete flange release, a technique not described in the literature for this purpose.

INTRODUCCIÓN: La obstrucción intestinal por bridas es frecuente en pacientes con antecedentes quirúrgicos. OBJETIVO: Describir un caso clínico con adherenciolisis frustra por cirugía, utilizando neumoperitoneo como preacondicionamiento para cirugía electiva. CASO CLÍNICO: Paciente con obstrucción intestinal por bridas, con imposibilidad de adherenciolisis, por lo que se instalan catéteres para administrar neumoperitoneo progresivo con el fin de optimizar la liberación de bridas en cirugía electiva, cursando en el postoperatorio con fístula enterocutánea que requirió manejo multidisciplinario con drenaje percutáneo, nutrición parenteral y cuidados por enfermería, que finalmente resultó exitoso. DISCUSIÓN: En una obstrucción por bridas muchas veces se requiere una adherenciolisis extensa que conlleva mayor riesgo de lesión intestinal y fístula enterocutánea, que en este caso creemos que disminuyó debido al neumoperitoneo utilizado para generar bridas más laxas y manejables. CONCLUSIÓN: Las bridas postoperatorias generan morbilidad importante y su manejo quirúrgico requiere adherenciolisis que puede resultar laboriosa o imposible en primera instancia, requiriendo en este caso el uso de neumoperitoneo progresivo para la liberación de bridas completa, técnica no descrita en la literatura para este fin.

[Spontaneous idiopathic pneumoperitoneum in a patient with COVID-19]. / Spontannyi idiopaticheskii pnevmoperitoneum u patsienta s COVID-19.

The authors present a patient with COVID-19 and spontaneous idiopathic pneumoperitoneum. A 77-year-old man suffering from coronary artery disease, diabetes mellitus and cognitive disorders was diagnosed with bilateral pneumonia and COVID-19. Oxygen support through a face mask was prescribed. After 21 days, oxygen saturation decrease and mild abdominal symptoms required CT-based examination. Pneumoperitoneum without pneumothorax and pneumomediastinum was revealed. Explorative laparotomy found no abdominal diseases. According to the literature, spontaneous pneumoperitoneum in patients with COVID-19 is usually associated with high pressure oxygen therapy, but not always associated with intrathoracic complications. Conservative treatment may be appropriate in patients with spontaneous pneumoperitoneum, but any unclear findings can require surgery.

Management of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis with pneumoperitoneum: 5-years systematic review

Introduction: Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PCI) is a rare condition characterized by gas-filled cysts in the intestinal wall. Although rare, it may also involve other regions, such as the mesentery. PCI is classified as primary or secondary and is associated with multiple predisposing factors. It may be associated with either a benign condition or a potentially fatal condition, such as mesenteric ischemia. The objective of this study was to review the medical literature on the rare benign presentations of PCI, excluding cases associated with intestinal ischemia.Methods: We conducted a systematic literature review according to the PRISMA statement. We searched PubMed and LILACS databases for articles published between January 2015 and December 2020 using the following Medical Subject Headings: "pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis" and "pneumoperitoneum," "pneumatosis intestinalis," and "pneumoperitoneum" or "mesenteric pneumatosis."Results: We included 51 articles comprising 58 patients with PCI and pneumoperitoneum. Most patients were men, and mean patient age was 64.9 years. We identified an idiopathic etiology in 29.31% of cases, and the most common predisposing factor was immune dysfunction (29.31%). A total of 24.13% of patients were asymptomatic. The most commons symptoms were abdominal pain (43.10%), nausea and vomiting (41.37%), and abdominal distention (37.93%). Diagnostic surgery was conducted in 26 patients (44.82%). Only 1 patient underwent surgical treatment.Conclusions: PCI is a clinical condition that may have a benign etiology and not require surgery. Treatment of the benign etiology is conservative. Thus, life-threatening conditions should be excluded in all cases.

Emphysematous Cystitis and Pneumoperitoneum in a Dog with Escherichia coli Urinary Tract Infection and Hyperadrenocorticism.

A 9 yr old male neutered Staffordshire bull terrier with a history of poorly controlled hyperadrenocorticism, urinary tract infections, and emphysematous cystitis (EC) was presented to a veterinary referral teaching hospital for vomiting. Abdominal radiographs revealed EC and a pneumoperitoneum. The urinary bladder was found to be intact based on ultrasound and a pre- and postiohexol contrast computed tomography study with retrograde contrast cystogram. Urine culture confirmed the presence of a recurrent Escherichia coli urinary tract infection. The patient was managed medically, primarily as an outpatient, and had complete resolution of all problems. This case represents an extremely rare form of EC with pneumoperitoneum, without evidence of concurrent urinary bladder rupture. Only six similar cases have been reported in humans, with no previous cases reported in veterinary medicine. This case demonstrated that surgery is not necessarily indicated in all cases of pneumoperitoneum. The patient remained alive at 2 mo follow-up, with no evidence of recurrence of EC.

Subcutaneous emphysema, pneumothorax, pneumomediastinum and pneumoperitoneum after upper gastrointestinal endoscopy.

Upper gastrointestinal (GI) endoscopies are performed for several reasons. The overuse of endoscopy has negative effects on the quality of healthcare and pressurises endoscopy services. It also results in the complications. These complications include pneumoperitoneum, pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous pneumomediastinum. However, it is worth noting that these complications rarely occur during endoscopy of the upper GI tract. These complications, when they occur, indicate perforation of the retroperitoneal space or peritoneal cavity. In this article, we discuss a case of pneumoperitoneum, pneumomediastinum and subcutaneous emphysema after upper GI endoscopy.

Intraabdominal Pressure Targeted Positive End-expiratory Pressure during Laparoscopic Surgery: An Open-label, Nonrandomized, Crossover, Clinical Trial.

BACKGROUND: Pneumoperitoneum for laparoscopic surgery is associated with a rise of driving pressure. The authors aimed to assess the effects of positive end-expiratory pressure (PEEP) on driving pressure at varying intraabdominal pressure levels. It was hypothesized that PEEP attenuates pneumoperitoneum-related rises in driving pressure. METHODS: Open-label, nonrandomized, crossover, clinical trial in patients undergoing laparoscopic cholecystectomy. "Targeted PEEP" (2 cm H2O above intraabdominal pressure) was compared with "standard PEEP" (5 cm H2O), with respect to the transpulmonary and respiratory system driving pressure at three predefined intraabdominal pressure levels, and each patient was ventilated with two levels of PEEP at the three intraabdominal pressure levels in the same sequence. The primary outcome was the difference in transpulmonary driving pressure between targeted PEEP and standard PEEP at the three levels of intraabdominal pressure. RESULTS: Thirty patients were included and analyzed. Targeted PEEP was 10, 14, and 17 cm H2O at intraabdominal pressure of 8, 12, and 15 mmHg, respectively. Compared to standard PEEP, targeted PEEP resulted in lower median transpulmonary driving pressure at intraabdominal pressure of 8 mmHg (7 [5 to 8] vs. 9 [7 to 11] cm H2O; P = 0.010; difference 2 [95% CI 0.5 to 4 cm H2O]); 12 mmHg (7 [4 to 9] vs.10 [7 to 12] cm H2O; P = 0.002; difference 3 [1 to 5] cm H2O); and 15 mmHg (7 [6 to 9] vs.12 [8 to 15] cm H2O; P < 0.001; difference 4 [2 to 6] cm H2O). The effects of targeted PEEP compared to standard PEEP on respiratory system driving pressure were comparable to the effects on transpulmonary driving pressure, though respiratory system driving pressure was higher than transpulmonary driving pressure at all intraabdominal pressure levels. CONCLUSIONS: Transpulmonary driving pressure rises with an increase in intraabdominal pressure, an effect that can be counterbalanced by targeted PEEP. Future studies have to elucidate which combination of PEEP and intraabdominal pressure is best in term of clinical outcomes.

[Low-pressure pneumoperitoneum with abdominal elevation in laparoscopic radical prosta-tectomy in elderly patients with a localized form of prostate cancer.]

Prostate cancer is an actual problem among males of older age groups, while the concomi-tant premorbid background of this category of patients often leads to the development of postopera-tive complications using the standard surgical method. The article presents the results of using low-pressure pneumoperitoneum with anterior abdominal wall lifting for laparoscopic radical prostatec-tomy in elderly patients with a localized form of prostate cancer. Convincingly shown that the use of low-pressure techniques pneumoperitoneum with lifting anterior abdominal wall ensures satis-factory operating field, obtains stable indicators of operational monitoring and allow to reduce the duration of the operation, as well as reduce the duration of hospitalization and incidence of postoperative complications.

Ruptured Pyogenic Liver Abscess with Pneumoperitoneum 19 Years After Pancreatoduodenectomy.

BACKGROUND Rupture of a pyogenic liver abscess is rare but serious complication. In patients after pancreatoduodenectomy, there are some conditions causing the development of liver abscesses (e.g., chronic reflux-cholangitis, efferent jejunal loop stasis, stenosis of the biliary anastomosis, and pancreatogenic diabetes). However, the number of published cases of liver abscess after pancreatoduodenectomy is small. CASE REPORT A 42-year-old male was admitted with severe abdominal pain, fever, and jaundice. Nineteen years previously, he had undergone pancreatoduodenectomy and cholecystectomy for chronic pancreatitis with obstructive jaundice. Two years later, diabetes mellitus was diagnosed, with subsequent insulin treatment. At admission, symptoms of peritonitis were present. Plain abdominal radiography showed free gas under the right hemidiaphragm and heterogeneous liver shade with small gas-fluid levels. The rupture of a liver abscess was suspected. Laparotomy with adhesiolysis, debridement of the liver abscess cavity, and abdominal drainage were performed. The postoperative period was complicated by sepsis, right lower lobe pneumonia, and two-sided pleural effusions, on the background of insulin-dependent diabetes and malnutrition. The patient was discharged on the 40th day and the subdiaphragmatic drains were removed on the 114th day. Sixteen months after surgery, the patient's condition was satisfactory. Magnetic resonance imaging and echography showed the absence of biliary hypertension. The liver tissue had healed completely. CONCLUSIONS A unique case of ruptured liver abscess after pancreatoduodenectomy is presented. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first published case with such a long time interval (19 years) between pancreatoduodenectomy and the formation of a pyogenic liver abscess.

Needle in a Haystack: Natural Language Processing to Identify Serious Illness.

BACKGROUND: Alone, administrative data poorly identifies patients with palliative care needs. OBJECTIVE: To identify patients with uncommon, yet devastating, illnesses using a combination of administrative data and natural language processing (NLP). DESIGN/SETTING: Retrospective cohort study using the electronic medical records of a healthcare network totaling over 2500 hospital beds. We sought to identify patient populations with two unique disease processes associated with a poor prognosis: pneumoperitoneum and leptomeningeal metastases from breast cancer. MEASUREMENTS: Patients with pneumoperitoneum or leptomeningeal metastasis from breast cancer were identified through administrative codes and NLP. RESULTS: Administrative codes alone resulted in identification of 6438 patients with possible pneumoperitoneum and 557 patients with possible leptomeningeal metastasis. Adding NLP to this analysis reduced the number of patients to 869 with pneumoperitoneum and 187 with leptomeningeal metastasis secondary to breast cancer. Administrative codes alone yielded a 13% positive predictive value (PPV) for pneumoperitoneum and 25% PPV for leptomeningeal metastasis. The combination of administrative codes and NLP achieved a PPV of 100%. The entire process was completed within hours. CONCLUSIONS: Adding NLP to the use of administrative codes allows for rapid identification of seriously ill patients with otherwise difficult to detect disease processes and eliminates costly, tedious, and time-intensive manual chart review. This method enables studies to evaluate the effectiveness of treatment, including palliative interventions, for unique populations of seriously ill patients who cannot be identified by administrative codes alone.

Ultrasonographic Diagnosis for Dysfunction of the Diaphragm After Iatrogenic Tension Pneumoperitoneum by a Gastrointestinal Endoscopic Procedure: A Case Report.

There are various causes of dysfunction of the diaphragm. We present a case of diaphragm dysfunction caused by an excessive pneumoperitoneum in a 65-year-old woman. Her abdomen became distended during endoscopic investigation and circulatory failure occurred. A computed tomography scan revealed excessive pneumoperitoneum. Urgent laparotomy was performed to repair gastric perforation. Tracheal extubation was successfully performed in the intensive care unit. After extubation, a paradoxical breathing pattern appeared in addition to tachypnea. A diagnosis of dysfunction of the bilateral diaphragm was made by ultrasonography. Although nasal high-flow cannula therapy was required for several days, she was discharged from our hospital 2 weeks after surgery without any further complications. We should keep in mind that diaphragm dysfunction after excessive abdominal extension can be a cause of respiratory failure.

Lack of Diagnosis of Pneumoperitoneum in Perforated Duodenal Ulcer After RYGB: a Short Case Series and Review of the Literature.

Perforated duodenal ulcer following RYGB is an unusual clinical situation that may be a diagnostic challenge. Only 23 cases have previously been reported. We present five cases. The hallmark of visceral perforation, namely pneumoperitoneum, was not seen in three of the four cases that underwent cross sectional imaging. This is perhaps due to the altered anatomy of the RYGB that excludes air from the duodenum. Our cases had more free fluid than expected. The bariatric surgeon should not wait for free intraperitoneal air to suspect duodenal perforation after RYGB.

Bladder pressure monitoring and CO2 gas-related adverse events during per-oral endoscopic myotomy.

Per-oral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) is a minimally invasive treatment for esophageal achalasia. However, POEM has the potential risk of inducing carbon dioxide (CO2) gas-related adverse events, such as pneumoperitoneum, pneumomediastinum, and pneumothorax. The aim of this study was to evaluate the usability of bladder pressure monitoring as an index of CO2 gas-related pneumoperitoneum. The monitoring of bladder pressure and lung compliance and the incidence of iatrogenic pneumoperitoneum were retrospectively studied in 20 patients who underwent POEM between June 2013 and March 2015. The bladder pressure was measured using a Foley catheter. Abdominal distention was found in nine patients. The bladder pressure was significantly higher in the nine patients with the distention findings compared with patients without distention [7 (6-9) mmHg vs. 1 (0-2) mmHg; P < 0.05]; however, the decrease in dynamic lung compliance was not significantly different compared with patients without distention [- 7 (- 9.3 to - 5.1) vs. - 5 (- 10.2 to - 1.3) ml/cmH2O; P = 0.62]. Based on postoperative changes on CT scans; the following were the observations: pneumomediastinum (55%), minor pneumothorax (5%), pleural effusion (45%), atelectasis (15%), pneumoperitoneum (85%), and subcutaneous emphysema (15%). No significant clinical status was found among the patients postoperatively. Bladder pressure monitoring might be useful for detecting pneumoperitoneum during POEM.