Abstract
We experienced a case of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis (PCI) that was completely treated with hyperbaric oxygen. An 83-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital due to fever, diarrhea and abdominal distention. Abdominal X-ray film revealed a lot of intraperitoneal free air, so we suspected perforation of the gastrointestinal tract. However, abdominal computed tomography (CT) scan showed pneumatosis in the intestinal wall, and we diagnosed it as PCI. Because the patient did not show any abdominal muscle guarding, we chose a conservative therapy. However, the CT scan on the 6th day did not show a reduction of the pneumatosis in the intestinal wall and intraperitoneal free air. Therefore, on the nineteenth day, we started hyperbaric oxygen therapy and the CT scan on the twenty-sixth day showed that the peumatosis was no longer visible in the intestinal wall and there was no intraperitoneal free air. It has been reported that hyperbaric oxygen is effective for PCI, so if we diagnose a patient having PCI without abdominal muscle guarding, we should choose treatment with hyperbaric oxygen.
