Abstract
The most common etiology of pneumoperitoneum, or air in the peritoneal cavity, is perforated viscus. The differential diagnosis is broad; however, of patients who exhibit free air on imaging studies, the most common causes are peptic ulcer disease and diverticulitis. The objectives of this chapter are to review the epidemiology, etiology and pathophysiology of the disease, along with diagnostic and treatment modalities for patients with pneumoperitoneum.
Treat the patient, not the scan
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Kumar, et al. The etiology of pneumoperitoneum in the 21st century. J Trauma Acute Care Surg. 2012;73(3):542–8.
Langell JT, Mulvihill SJ. Gastrointestinal perforation and the acute abdomen. Med Clin North Am. 2008;92(3):viii–ix, 599–625.
Reich H, Chou D, Melo N. Perforated Hollow Viscus. In: Butler Kathryn L, Harisinghan Mukesh, editors. Acute care surgery: imaging essentials for rapid diagnosis. McGraw-Hill Education: China; 2015.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2017 Springer International Publishing AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Melchior, N. (2017). Pneumoperitoneum. In: Dangleben, D., Madbak, F. (eds) Acute Care General Surgery . Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52255-5_18
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-52255-5_18
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-52254-8
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-52255-5
eBook Packages: MedicineMedicine (R0)