Self-Limited Pneumoporta in the Era of Computed Tomography: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Pneumoporta in patients with abdominal pain has been thought to be suggestive of fatal underlying conditions, such as mesenteric infarct, requiring emergency treatment. Widespread use of computed tomography (CT) has increased the frequency of detection of pneumoporta in patients with diseases other than mesenteric infarct. The natural course of resolution of pneumoporta has been rarely discussed in the literature and mainly focused on patients with iatrogenic diseases. Herein, we report the case of a 64-year-old woman who presented at our emergency department with positive peritoneal signs and pneumoporta. A 10 cm long segment of resolved ischemic bowel was detected on exploratory laparotomy, and bowel resection was not performed. Follow-up CT performed 62 hours later revealed complete resolution of pneumoporta. The patient was discharged uneventfully and was administered short-term prophylactic therapy with enoxaparin for thromboembolism. The epidemiology, etiology, and resolution of pneumoporta are also reviewed.