This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Citing articles on Web of Science (2)  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in JAMA  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

A Roentgenographic Sign of Pneumoperitoneum

Edward S. Wind, MD; George P. Pillari, MD; Won J. Lee, MD

JAMA. 1977;237(20):2218-2219.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

WHEN the diagnosis of pneumoperitoneum is suspected from the clinical information in the case of a neonate, it is generally a simple matter to confirm the diagnosis roentgenographically. Filming is performed in either upright, lateral, or left lateral decubitus positions. When a perforation is of such severity that massive amounts of gastric or intestinal air enter the peritoneal cavity, a supine roentgenogram demonstrates the "football sign," which consists of an oval lucency demarcating the peritoneum with visualization of the falciform ligament (Fig 1).¹ With pneumoperitoneum, the physical findings that would normally alert the neonatologist to this diagnosis are occasionally not apparent, and an abdominal x-ray film taken with the patient in a recumbent position does not show the football sign. We have found that a homogeneous lucency or streak-like lucencies seen over the liver provide easy recognition of intraperitoneal air, and an appropriate left lateral decubitus or lateral roentgenogram . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

Author Affiliations
From the Department of Radiology, Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY, and School of Medicine, State University of New York, Stony Brook.

Footnotes
Reprint requests to Department of Radiology, Long Island Jewish-Hillside Medical Center, New Hyde Park, NY 11040 (Dr Wind).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?