Pneumaturia in Diabetes Mellitus

Pneumaturia may be defined 1 as the passage of urine charged with air or gas. Senator 2 in 1891 offered the first classification of pneumaturia, dividing it into three classes: (1) atmospheric air entering the urinary bladder as in instrumentation; (2) gases entering from hollow body cavities, especially from the intestine; (3) decomposition or fermentation of the urine causing gasification in the urinary bladder. The third group may be further divided into those with glycosuria and those without glycosuria. We are primarily interested in this communication with class 3, reporting a case of pneumaturia associated with diabetes. HISTORICAL Kelly and MacCallum 3 in 1898 reviewed the literature and reported several cases of pneumaturia, none of which were associated with diabetes. A careful search of subsequent literature has failed to reveal a report on this subject in the American or English literature, although several German observers have reported cases. Briene de