Pneumoperitoneum

Case contributed by Maulik S Patel
Diagnosis almost certain

Presentation

Acute abdominal pain for 12 hours. Referred for ultrasound.

Patient Data

Age: 20 years
Gender: Male
ultrasound

Without compression, there is uniform acoustic shadowing at the interface deep to the inner abdominal wall. With compression, this disappears.

This is compatible with pneumoperitoneum blocking the sound beam which resolves when it is pressed out of the way.

x-ray

Free intra-abdominal gas under the diaphragm.

Case Discussion

Pneumoperitoneum

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