Pneumoperitoneum and pneumothorax following transbronchial lung cryobiopsy: a case report

Background Transbronchial lung cryobiopsy (TBLC) is increasingly being used in the diagnostic work-up of interstitial lung disease (ILD). In clinical practice, the most important periinterventional complications are pneumothorax and moderate to severe bleeding. To our knowledge, pneumoperitoneum was not yet reported. Case presentation We present a case of a 75-year-old woman developing a pneumoperitoneum secondary to a large pneumothorax after TBLC for diagnostic evaluation of an unclassified ILD. The patient was hemodynamically stable, and the clinical examination of the abdomen revealed no peritoneal signs. Treatment of the pneumothorax with chest tube insertion resulted in the resolution of the pneumoperitoneum within three days. Conclusion We present this case to draw attention to this extremely rare complication of TBLC and to emphasise that this condition can be managed by treatment of the pneumothorax if the suspicion of visceral perforation is negligible.