Perforation of the cecum, as a complication of pleural biopsy

A case of a rupture of the cecum following pleural biopsy in a patient with lung carcinoma complicated by inappropriate secretion of antidiuretic hormone is reported. We hypothesized that this unusual complication was caused by a neurogenic effect caused by the trauma of the biopsy causing an imbalance in the autonomic nervous system producing a sympathetic predominance leading to adynamic ileus and subsequent perforation.