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Intestinal pneumatosis: differential diagnosis

  • Special Section: Intestinal ischemia
  • Published:
Abdominal Radiology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Intestinal pneumatosis (IP) is an infrequent radiological sign defined as pathological gas infiltration into the bowel wall. It may be associated to different underlying clinical conditions—inflammatory bowel diseases, malignancies, chemotherapy, infections, immune deficiency status, trauma, intestinal ischemia, and necrosis—that are often related to emergency state and require a prompt diagnosis. All the imaging techniques, especially abdominal radiography and Computed Tomography, could detect the presence of IP and discern the forms related to emergency conditions. The differential diagnosis is essential to start an immediate clinical or surgical management and treatment. The aim of this article is to review the radiological features of IP in different illnesses, with particular attention to differential diagnosis.

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Abbreviations

IP:

Intestinal pneumatosis

NEC:

Necrotizing enterocolitis

PMVG:

Porto-mesenteric vein gas

PNP:

Pneumoperitoneum

CT:

Computed tomography

PCI:

Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Advanced Biomedical Sciences, Federico II University, Naples, Italy

    Giulia Lassandro & Stefano Giusto Picchi

  2. Department of Radiology, Monaldi Hospital, Naples, Italy

    Federica Romano, Giacomo Sica, Roberta Lieto, Giorgio Bocchini, Salvatore Guarino & Francesco Lassandro

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  1. Giulia Lassandro
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  2. Stefano Giusto Picchi
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  3. Federica Romano
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Lassandro, G., Picchi, S., Romano, F. et al. Intestinal pneumatosis: differential diagnosis. Abdom Radiol 47, 1529–1540 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-020-02639-8

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00261-020-02639-8

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