PERFORATION OF COLON FOLLOWING ACUTE NECROSIS OF PANCREAS

Abstract

WHAT we learned from the following three cases makes us believe that perforation of the colon may be a somewhat frequent complication of acute pancreatitis,¹ that its presence may not be suspected, and that means of preventing, diagnosing, and treating it deserve consideration. Writers have apparently regarded the condition as a rare occurrence, for we have found only brief mention of it. REPORT OF CASES Case 1. —Mrs. C. G., aged 49 (Methodist Hospital Case #49-33892), had had a sudden, agonizing pain in the epigastrium 24 hours before admission. This had occurred without prodromal symptoms at a time that she was in her usual state of health. It was followed soon by vomiting and signs of peripheral circulatory failure. She was admitted to the hospital on Aug. 24, 1949. Past History. —The patient had had five laparotomies. Three of these had been for operations on her pelvic organs; one,