[Pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis in lung transplant recipients: three cases report and literature review].

Objective

To report the clinical characteristics and treatment courses of pneumatosis cystoides intestinalis(PCI) after lung transplantation(LT).

Methods

We included all cases of PCI after LT from March 2017 to June 2021 in China-Japan Friendship Hospital. In addition to our cases, we searched literatures published in Chinese and English languages using China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Wanfang Data and PubMed/MEDLINE with the search terms"pneumatosis intestinalis"and"lung transplantation". The clinical characteristics and treatment courses of all cases were summarized and analyzed.

Results

Three cases of PCI occurred after LT in this study, with an incidence of 0.804% (3/373). Thirteen related literatures were retrieved, with 51 cases enrolled. The median age of the 54 patients was 55.4 years (22-79 years), with 33 males and 21 females. 64.81% (35/54) of the 54 patients underwent LT for interstitial lung disease and 90.74% (49/54) underwent bilateral LT. Twenty-two cases(40.7%) were asymptomatic when PCI occurred. Thirty-eight cases (38/54,70.37%)had involvement of ascending colon, and 35 cases(35/54,64.81%)had involvement of transverse colon. Forty-three cases(43/54, 79.63%) were treated conservatively. The average interval between transplantation and PCI was 210 (5-2 495) days.

Conclusion

PCI is a rare complication after lung transplantation, most often occurring in the colon. Most patients were asymptomatic and could improve by conservative treatments.