Virtual colonoscopy-induced perforation in a patient with Crohn's disease.

We report a case of sigmoid colon perforation in a patient with Crohn's disease undergoing computed-tomographic (CT) colonography. A 70-year-old patient with Crohn's disease with terminal ileitis and sigmoid stricture underwent CT colonography after incomplete conventional colonoscopy. During the procedure, the colon was inflated by air insufflation and the patient developed abdominal pain with radiological evidence of retroperitoneal and intraperitoneal free gas. Hartmann's operation was performed. This case highlights that CT colonography is not risk-free. The risk of perforation may be higher in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.