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CASE REPORT
Pneumatosis intestinalis: cost paid for rheumatoid arthritis treatment
  1. Pratyusha Tirumanisetty1,
  2. Jose William Sotelo2,
  3. Michael Disalle1 and
  4. Meenal Sharma3
  1. 1 Department of Internal Medicine, Unity Hospital, Greece, New York, USA
  2. 2 Department of Internal Medicine, Universidad Autonoma Metropolitana - Xochimilco, Coyoacan, Mexico
  3. 3 Department of Pathology, Unity Hospital, Greece, New York, USA
  1. Correspondence to Pratyusha Tirumanisetty, Tirumanisettypratyusha{at}gmail.com

Abstract

A 75-year-old woman with rheumatoid arthritis on rituximab presented with a 1-week history of constipation and abdominal distension. Subsequent workup showed presence of air in the bowel wall without perforation initially. Due to positive blood cultures, worsening leucocytosis and high suspicion for perforation, an exploratory laparotomy was performed revealing necrotic bowel, walled off perforation and abscess. Patient underwent right hemicolectomy with diversion loop ileostomy. Clinicians must recognise that monoclonal antibodies like rituximab can mask signs of inflammation and therefore should maintain a high index of suspicion for intestinal perforation when evaluating patients with minimal symptoms and pneumatosis intestinalis.

  • gastroenterology
  • air leaks
  • rheumatoid arthritis

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Footnotes

  • Contributors PT: literature search, preparation of manuscript, including original draft of the manuscript. JWS: literature search, preparation of manuscript, proofreading. MD: preparation of manuscript, proofreading. MS: preparation of manuscript.

  • Funding The authors have not declared a specific grant for this research from any funding agency in the public, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

  • Competing interests None declared.

  • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.

  • Patient consent for publication Obtained.