“Cat scratch colon” causing cecal perforation as a rare complication due to barotrauma during colonoscopy: A case report and literature review

Abstract

“Cat scratch colon” (CSC), characterized by spontaneous bright-red linear markings or mucosal laceration with bleeding due to air insufflation barotrauma, is a rare complication during colonoscopy. These mucosal lacerations can present as superficial tears that do not generally have clinical repercussions or as deeper tears that damage the muscularis and cause perforation. CSC occurs in the colon with submucosal stiffening disease, such as collagenous colitis; however, in cases unrelated to these diseases, CSC appears in the cecum or ascending colon for anatomical reasons. Herein, we report a case of CSC that caused cecal perforation. A 79-year-old woman underwent a colonoscopy for anal bleeding. Although insertion of the colonoscope was easy, as soon as the cecum expanded with air insufflation, the cecal mucosa was torn, and bleeding occurred. The endoscopist determined these findings as shallow mucosal tears and inactive bleeding, and a colonoscopy was completed. She visited our hospital 2 days after colonoscopy with a complaint of abdominal pain that appeared in the morning after colonoscopy. Computed tomography revealed inflammation around the cecum, with free air. Emergency surgery was performed to diagnose an iatrogenic colonic perforation caused by colonoscopy. During surgery, a necrotic area was found in the cecal wall, requiring ileocecal resection. The resected specimen showed cecal mucosal tears with necrosis, which were pathologically consistent with cecal rupture resulting from mucosal laceration. The postoperative course was uneventful. When CSC is encountered along with endoscopic findings of deep mucosal tears in the colon, the possibility of perforation after colonoscopy should be considered.