Abstract
We report five cases of non-surgical pneumoperitoneum. Case 1 was a 69-year-old man admitted in an emergency for traffic injury. Case 2 was a 40-year-old woman admitted in an emergency for acute abdominal pain. Case 3 was a 90-year-old man admitted in an emergency for fever and respiratory failure. Case 4 was an 86-year-old man hospitalized with multiple pain from lung cancer metastases. Case 5 was a 50-year-old woman under observation for liver hemangioma. X-ray and/or computed tomography scan were taken of these patients for further examination and revealed intra abdominal free air. Cases 1-4 underwent operations since perforations of gastrointestinal tract were suspected. Case 5 was followed up carefully with nonsurgical management since her symptoms and laboratory data did not suggest peritonitis. All the cases were diagnosed as non-surgical pneumoperitoneum. There are only 74 cases, including our case, of non-surgical pneumoperitoneum reported in Japan. We reviewed those cases including our cases.
