Sonographic diagnosis of portal venous gas in two pediatric liver transplant patients with benign pneumatosis intestinalis. Case reports and literature review

Abstract

Pneumatosis Intestinalis (gas in the bowel wall) is uncommon in children and is associated with a number of clinical conditions most notably necrotizing enterocolitis in sick neonates. We observed portal venous gas on sonography and benign pneumatosis intestinalis on abdominal radiography in two children who had recently undergone liver transplantation. Asymptomatic portal venous gas and pneumatosis intestinalis has not been described previously in pediatric liver transplant patients. It is important to recognize the sonographic appearance of portal venous gas since sonography is the imaging modality most frequently utilized for monitoring the allograft post liver transplantation.