Presentation
Acute onset abdominal pain and guarding. ?perforation
Patient Data
Age: 60 years
Gender: Male
From the case:
Pneumoperitoneum (chest radiograph)
{"current_user":null,"step_through_annotations":true,"access":{"can_edit":false,"can_download":true,"can_toggle_annotations":true,"can_feature":false,"can_examine_pipeline_reports":false,"can_pin":false},"extraPropsURL":"/studies/94008/annotated_viewer_json?lang=us"}
Gas is beneath both hemidiaphragms, more prominent on the right, in keeping with a pneumoperitoneum. Sternotomy wires.
Case Discussion
A pneumoperitoneum should be considered a pathological finding unless there is a recent history of abdominal surgery. Even then, there should not be a large volume of gas, and correlation with examination findings are important.