Pneumatosis coli, a rare cause of chronic abdominal pain.

Pneumatosis coli is a rare entity, characterised by the formation of intramural air cysts in the colonic wall. Diagnosis can be made by CT and colonoscopy, which may suggest this aetiology. We present the case of a 51-year-old patient who consulted for abdominal pain and diarrhoea and underwent colonoscopy with findings of multiple lesions between 5-10 mm with polypoid morphology and submucosal appearance in the transverse colon and splenic angle. Given the suspicion of pneumatosis, these lesions were punctured with a 3-mm injection needle and then aspirated with a syringe, extracting gas and observing the collapse of the lesions. This confirms the diagnosis of pneumatosis coli, also improving the patient's clinical condition. This case shows the importance of endoscopic imaging, as well as the fact that injection needle aspiration allows the diagnosis of coli pneumatosis, being a safe and effective method that does not require other diagnostic tests.