An unusual case of small bowel and sigmoid volvuli presenting with dyspnea

Abstract

Intestinal volvulus is a pathological condition that can lead to bowel obstruction and intestinal ischemia, and is therefore potentially fatal in severe cases. Patients' symptoms are often nonspecific: volvulus most frequently presents as an acute abdomen, but vague symptoms such as abdominal pain and distension, nausea and vomiting are common. In this scenario, the gold standard for diagnosis is contrast-enhanced computed tomography, which allows a timely assessment. However, in this article we present a rare case of a small bowel volvulus associated with a sigmoid volvulus in which the patient presented to the emergency department with respiratory symptoms.