Introduction:
Community acquired pneumonia usually presents with typical clinical and radiological signs allowing for a quick diagnosis. Nevertheless, pneumonia can infrequently mimic acute abdominal pathologies, leading to invasive unnecessary procedures.
Presentation of case:
We report a case of a 44-year-old man, previously healthy, admitted with a diagnosis of a surgical abdomen, investigated with an exploratory laparoscopy after inconclusive imaging and failure of improvement. Clinical evolution revealed the diagnosis of pneumonia.
Discussion:
Community acquired pneumonia is a frequently encountered condition. While its clinical presentation is usually related to the respiratory system, extrapulmonary manifestations, including abdominal pain in the pediatric population, are well documented. However, solely severe acute abdominal pain, being as the major presentation, without respiratory symptoms or radiological signs is very rarely reported.
Conclusion:
Community acquired pneumonia can sometimes be a challenging diagnosis. Acute abdominal pain mimicking a surgical abdomen is an infrequent presentation but can confuse physicians when no radiological or clinical signs of pneumonia are present.