Pediatric Chilaiditi Syndrome: A Case Report
- Authors
-
-
-
Hèla Ben Jmaà
department of cardiovascular and thoracic surgery
-
Mohamed Rebei
-
Rim KKarray
-
Malek Abbes
-
Ayman Ben Ayed
-
Zied Chaari
-
Abdessalem Hentati
-
- Keywords:
- Chilaiditi syndrome; Conservative treatment; Pseudo-occlusive syndrome; Differential diagnosis
- Abstract
-
Chilaiditi syndrome, rare in children, corresponds to the interposition of the colon between the liver and the diaphragm.
We report the case of a 14-year-old teenager, followed for intellectual disability, admitted to the emergency room for respiratory discomfort and vomiting without occlusive syndrome. The chest X-ray showed the right colonic angle in the chest, suggesting a strangulated diaphragmatic hernia. The thoraco-abdominal CT scan corrected th diagnosis by objectyfying Chilaiditi syndrome. The course was favorable under conservative treatment (left lateral decubitus).
This case highlights the importance of discussing this diagnosis to avoid unnecessary exploratory surgery.
- References
-
1. Kumar A, Mehta D. Chilaiditi Syndrome. In: StatPearls [Internet]. Treasure Island (FL): StatPearls Publishing; 2026 [cited 2026 Apr 7]. Available from: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK554565/ PubMed PMID: 32119452.
2. Vessal K, Borhanmanesh F. Hepatodiaphragmatic interposition of the intestine (Chilaiditi’s syndrome). Clinical Radiology. 1976 Jan 1;27(1):113–6. doi:10.1016/S0009-9260(76)80031-1. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/S0009-9260(76)80031-1
3. Adu Y, Nesiama EA, Siddiqui A, Prakash S, Obokhare I. Chilaiditi Syndrome: A Case Report, Literature Review, and Proposition of a Novel Management Staging System. Cureus 2023 October 8; 15(10): e46688. doi:10.7759/cureus.46688 PubMed PMID: 37942369; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC10629610. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.46688
4. Mistry KA, Bhoil R, Kumar N, Chopra R, Thapar N. Significance of Chilaiditi sign and Chilaiditi syndrome. Emerg Nurse. 2017 Jun 15;25(3):26–31. doi:10.7748/en.2017.e1682 PubMed PMID: 28617114. DOI: https://doi.org/10.7748/en.2017.e1682
5. Saha B, Verma A, Coelho-Prabhu N, Kelm ZS, Cabrera D. Chilaiditi Syndrome Masquerading as Acute Cholecystitis. ACG Case Rep J. 2024 Jul 19;11(7):e01448. doi:10.14309/crj.0000000000001448 PubMed PMID: 39035204; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC11259379. DOI: https://doi.org/10.14309/crj.0000000000001448
6. Ramspott JP, Jäger T, Lechner M, Schredl P, Gabersek A, Mayer F, et al. A systematic review on diagnostics and surgical treatment of adult right-sided Bochdalek hernias and presentation of the current management pathway. Hernia. 2022;26(1):47–59. doi:10.1007/s10029-021-02445-1 PubMed PMID: 34216313; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC8881253. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10029-021-02445-1
7. Teoh S, Mimi O, Poonggothai S, Liew S, Kumar G. Pneumoperitoneum or Chilaiditi’s sign. Malays Fam Physician. 2016 Apr 30;11(1):22–4. PubMed PMID: 28461845; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC5405329.
8. Moaven O, Hodin RA. Chilaiditi Syndrome. Gastroenterol Hepatol (N Y). 2012 Apr;8(4):276–8. PubMed PMID: 22723763; PubMed Central PMCID: PMC3380266.
9. ScienceFrontier. ScienceFrontier [Internet]. [cited 2026 Apr 7]. Chilaiditi Syndrome: A Comprehensive Review. Available from: https://sciencefrontier.org/article/chilaiditi-syndrome-a-comprehensive-review doi:https://doi.org/CCSRR/RW/008
- Downloads
- Published
- 30-06-2026
- Section
- Case Reports
- License
-
Copyright (c) 2026 Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
THE tjem allows authors to retain unrestricted copyright and full publishing rights of their articles.
All articles published in this journal are openly accessible and licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). This guarantees that anyone is free to:
-
Share: Copy and redistribute the material in any medium or format.
-
Adapt: Remix, transform, and build upon the material for any purpose, even commercially.
Under the following terms:
-
Attribution: Users must give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the journal, provide a link to the license, and indicate if changes were made.
By submitting a manuscript to tjem, authors grant the journal the right of first publication, while retaining full ownership of their intellectual property.
-
How to Cite
Similar Articles
- hana kessentini, Dr Rim Karray, Dr Fedi Ben ali, Dr Haifa Snoussi, Dr Marwa Belalkhal, Dr Olfa Chakroun, Dr Noureddine Rekik, Spinal cord injury caused by stab wounds after a penetrating trauma: About 2 cases , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): TJEM VOL4 ISSUE1
- Wiem Feki, Fatma Hammami, Makram Koubaa, Emna Daoud, Mounir Ben Jemaa, Zaineb Mnif, Neuroimaging Features Of Central Nervous System Diseases In HIV-Infected Patients : A Comprehensive Review , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 4 No. 1 (2026): TJEM VOL4 ISSUE1
- nabila choubane, Fatal Refractory Hypokalemic Paralysis Secondary to Occupational Toluene Exposure: A Case Report , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 4 No. 3 (2026): TJEM 2026: Vol.4 Issue 3
- Wiem Feki, Fatma Hammami, Amina Kammoun, Makram Koubaa, Mounir Ben Jemaa, Zaineb Mnif, Emphysematous pyelonephritis with infected abdominal aorta pseudoaneurysm among a diabetic man , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 3 No. 2 (2025): TJEM 2025: Vol.3 Issue 2
- Amal Samet, Firas Maalej , Zeineb Mlik , Mohamed Ali Nbaya, Imen Rejab , Severity factors of epistaxis: A retrospective study of 60 cases. , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 3 No. 3 (2025): TJEM 2025: Vol.3 Issue 3
- Amal Samet, Inspiratory dyspnea revealing a base of tongue abscess: a case report , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 3 No. 3 (2025): TJEM 2025: Vol.3 Issue 3
- Houda Ben Soltane, rebeh baazaoui, ons haddaji, fatma Lihiou, mariem khrouf, anis haj hassine, fatma Kacem, zied mezgar, Catastrophic antiphospholipid syndrome: litterature review and case report , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 3 No. 3 (2025): TJEM 2025: Vol.3 Issue 3
- Faten DHOUIB, Aimen Dammak, Faiza Safi, Fatma MHIRI, zied CHAARI, Successful Conservative Management of Penetrating Cervical Tracheal Injury: A Case Report , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): TJEM 2025: Vol.3 Issue 1
- Marwa TOUMIA, Fatma Zaouali, Lamia Bouzgarrou, Guillain–Barré syndrome after an asymptomatic COVID‐19 Infection: a case report , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 3 No. 1 (2025): TJEM 2025: Vol.3 Issue 1
- hela ben turkia, hanene ghazali, Ibtissem Ben Taher, Raja Fadhel, Amira Bekir, syrine keskes, Sami Souissi, Prognostic Value of the ACTION ICU Score Compared to GRACE and TIMI Scores in Non-ST-Segment Elevation Acute Coronary Syndromes , Tunisian Journal of Emergency Medicine: Vol. 4 No. 3 (2026): TJEM 2026: Vol.4 Issue 3
You may also start an advanced similarity search for this article.
