Intestinal volvulus secondary to pneumatosis intestinalis: A case report

Pneumatosis intestinalis (PI) is a rare but important medical condition that is defined as a collection of individual gas cysts in the submucosa and subserosa of the intestine. PI can be primary or secondary; however, this condition is secondary to underlying diseases most of the time. This article presents a 30-year-old man as a case report complaining of generalized abdominal pain and several episodes of non-bilious bloodless vomiting. The patient was admitted to the surgical service department for further investigation, and his abdominal CT scan revealed PI. The patient underwent emergency laparotomy surgery due to progressive abdominal pain and peritonitis. The involved segment of the small intestine was resected, and ileo-ileal anastomosis was performed. The patient was discharged from the hospital after a week, stable, and in good medical condition. This article intends to emphasize that although most of the patients with PI are asymptomatic or show unspecific symptoms, surgeons must take into account rare but lethal complications of PI such as intestinal volvulus. Early recognition of such complications is so crucial and can be life-saving. •Pneumatosis intestinalis (PI) is a rare but occasionally life-threatening condition.•We report a 30-year-old male PI case presented with abdominal pain and vomiting.•Pneumatosis cystoid intestinalis (PCI) seemed to be the main cause of the ileal volvulus.•Complete evaluation of PI cases is needed to avoid missing rare but lethal complications.