Pneumomediastinum Due to Traumatic Rectal Perforation
Bots and Hoek present a case of a 34-year-old smoker who was presented at the emergency department after a penetrating trauma by the arm of an excavator, followed by entrapment of the patient. An open pelvic fracture was diagnosed, for which he underwent surgery. A deep defect of the left thigh and...
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Published in | American journal of respiratory and critical care medicine Vol. 201; no. 5; pp. e15 - e16 |
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Main Authors | , |
Format | Journal Article |
Language | English |
Published |
United States
American Thoracic Society
01.03.2020
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Subjects | |
Online Access | Get full text |
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Summary: | Bots and Hoek present a case of a 34-year-old smoker who was presented at the emergency department after a penetrating trauma by the arm of an excavator, followed by entrapment of the patient. An open pelvic fracture was diagnosed, for which he underwent surgery. A deep defect of the left thigh and left inguinal area was noticed, for which a debridement was performed. Physical examination was otherwise unremarkable, and computed tomography scan of thorax and abdomen showed no abnormalities other than minimal free abdominal air at the fracture site. On postoperative Day 2, the patient developed rapid onset of subcutaneous emphysema. On postoperative Day 6, the patient complained about fecal contamination in his pelvic wound. In their patient, an extraperitoneal perforation was diagnosed, but pneumoretroperitoneum was absent. In retrospect, a miniscule pneumoperitoneum could be identified that was initially attributed to the pelvic wound. They believed that air traveled retroperitoneally to the thorax and neck because of anatomical fascial continuity. |
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Bibliography: | ObjectType-Case Study-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-4 content type line 23 ObjectType-Report-1 ObjectType-Article-3 |
ISSN: | 1073-449X 1535-4970 |
DOI: | 10.1164/rccm.201902-0276IM |