Colonic perforation following mild trauma in a patient with Crohn's disease

A 26-year-old man with a history of Crohn's disease was struck in the abdomen by an opponent's shoulder while playing basketball. He presented to the emergency department 3 hours later with the complaint of abdominal pain and was admitted to the hospital for observation. Nine hours after presentation a computed tomography scan showed he had pneumoperitoneum and then underwent laparotomy. A perforated segment of sigmoid colon with severe inflammatory disease was found and resected. The rest of his small and large bowels were otherwise unremarkable. His localized but severe inflammatory bowel disease predisposed him to bowel perforation with minimal trauma. This is the first report of a patient with inflammatory bowel disease and traumatic colon perforation; it is also the first report of a patient with a bowel perforation with minimal traumatic force.