Abstract
A 66-year-old woman underwent barium gastrography as part of a medical check-up in 2010. After she took the laxative, passage of watery stools was observed but not of white stools. On day 4 after the examination, she visited a nearby clinic because of abdominal pain, and an abdominal CT showed ileus. When she developed persistent vomiting, the patient visited our hospital, and a repeat abdominal CT obtained at our hospital revealed free air around the sigmoid colon with leakage of barium. The patient was diagnosed as having perforation of the sigmoid colon, and an emergency Hartmann operation was performed.
Perforation of the colon after a gastrointestinal barium series is rare ; while 2-4 cases per 10,000 have been reported following barium enema, there are scarce reports after gastrography. We suggest that as the number of subjects with constipation is likely to increase because of an aging society, it is necessary to monitor subjects undergoing gastrointestinal barium series very carefully, for example, ensuring excretion of the barium.
