PORTAL VEIN AND LIVER BARIUM EMBOLISM

Abstract

Background. An upper and lower gastrointestinal (GI) series is an available and informative diagnostic test. Side effects are extremely rare. Objective. To present a case description of portal vein and liver barium embolism with a fatal outcome and explain the mechanism of its occurrence. Material and methods. The clinical manifestations, laboratory and instrumental findings, as well as autopsy of a female patient who died after lower GI radiography were analyzed. Results. To exclude intestinal obstruction, the patient underwent a barium follow through. Three days later, during X-ray computed tomography, barium and gas were detected in the inferior mesenteric vein, portal vein and its intrahepatic branches. During colonoscopy, diverticula of the sigmoid colon were detected, but the localization of the intestinalvenous fistula wasn’t determined. Conservative surgery failed and the death occurred 15 days after radiography. Conclusions. The autopsy revealed that the site of entry for the development of barium embolism as well as for gas, were diabrotic veins in peridiverticular abscesses localized in pericolic tissue.