A patient underwent surgery due to mechanical ileus one week ago – adhesiolysis was performed (adhesions developed due to previous surgeries). She was transferred to our ICU because of vomiting and suspicion of aspiration.
She was somnolent, hemodynamically stable and did not present with clear signs of aspiration. The abdomen was slightly above the level of the chest. It was somewhat sensitive to palpation without clear maximum, and percussion revealed tympanic sound above the upper half of the abdomen and dull sound above its lower half. A scar after midline laparotomy, no pathology was present. Peristalsis was well audible in the right hypogastrium, the rest abdominal regions presented with only weak peristalsis.
We performed the abdominal ultrasound: