Hepatic portal venous gas following colonoscopy in a patient with Crohn's disease.

Hepatic portal venous gas is a rare condition that occurs when intraluminal gas or gas produced by intestinal bacteria enters the portal venous circulation. It has recently been recognized as a rare complication of colon procedures by endoscopy or barium enema. Given the frequency of these procedures in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, hepatic portal venous gas may occur more frequently in these patients than previously reported. Here, we report a woman with Crohn's disease who developed hepatic portal venous gas following colonoscopy who was treated with conservative therapy.