[Air cysts in the small intestine].

Pneumacystoides intestinalis (PCI) is a rare disease consisting of gaseous cysts localized in the wall of the gut. PCI is described from stomach to rectum, but is most frequently associated with chronic obstructive lung disease (COLD), peptic ulcers or other lesions in the gut. Idiopathic PCI is also reported. In this report, the radiological appearance of PCI in the small intestine of a 15 year old male patient with low mechanical obstruction of the small intestine is shown to be difficult to distinguish from the radiological findings under gangrenous conditions in the intestine, where gas assembles in the gut wall. It is suggested that PCI might be considered, when gas is demonstrated in the intestinal wall on routine x-ray of the abdomen, in the absence of accompanying clinical signs of intestinal necrosis.