Asymptomatic pneumatosis intestinalis in AIDS

Abstract

Pneumatosis intestinalis is an unusual entity in which subserosal or submucosal collections of gas occur in the bowel wall. We present a case of asymptomatic linear pneumatosis intestinalis and free abdominal air in a 67-year-old man with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) who improved spontaneously following conservative management. Pneumatosis intestinalis is a late-stage phenomenon in patients with AIDS that characteristically involves the cecum, ascending and transverse colon or the rectum with sparing of the descending colon and the sigmoid. For these patients, non-operative management is appropriate.