Pneumoperitoneum Recurring Concomitantly with Asthmatic Exacerbation

Abstract

We report a patient with pneumoperitoneum that recurred concomitantly with asthmatic exacerbation. The patient was a 71-year-old man with a medical history of bronchial asthma. Chest X-rays obtained during asthmatic exacerbation showed intra-abdominal air beneath his diaphragm. Subsequently, a computed tomography scan of his chest confirmed mediastinal emphysema and intra-abdominal air beneath his diaphragm. The intra-abdominal air disappeared after his asthmatic exacerbation was relieved by treatment. The patient showed recurrent pneumoperitoneum concomitant with asthmatic exacerbation. The cause of his pneumoperitoneum was conjectured to be the movement of air from the mediastinum to the peritoneal cavity through the sternocostal triangle.