Article Text
Summary
Pneumatosis intestinalis (PI), or the presence of air in the bowel wall, is a rare disorder that is associated with a variety of underlying diseases, including connective tissue disorders. PI presents on a spectrum from asymptomatic to bowel obstruction and acute abdomen. In general, treatment of PI consists of treating the underlying disease. Both normobaric and hyperbaric oxygen have been used to treat PI directly. Here we report a symptomatic scleroderma-related case of PI that responded clinically to hyperbaric oxygen therapy. This report adds to a growing body of literature supporting a role for hyperbaric oxygen therapy in symptomatic PI.
- anaesthesia
- gastroenterology
- connective tissue disease
- radiology
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Footnotes
Contributors EC and PC performed literature review. EC wrote the manuscript and made the figures. PC, BD and RM each provided guidance, edited the manuscript and contributed to revisions.
Competing interests None declared.
Patient consent The patient did personally agree and provide written consent to publish this report (consent form provided); however, consent was not obtained using the BMJ consent form. Prior to submission we attempted to contact the patient to sign the BMJ form; however, we unfortunately learned that she had passed away from unrelated causes. Attempts to contact family were unsuccessful.
Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.