[Spontaneous splenic rupture. Case report and literature review].

Abstract

Background: Spontaneous splenic rupture is often life threatening due to delay in diagnosis and treatment. Abdominal pain, Kehr's sign, nausea, bloating, altered consciousness, and intestinal obstruction may be present. In larger splenic lesions, signs of peritonitis and hypovolemic shock are present. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography is the election study. Diagnosis is confirmed by negative viral serology and normal spleen on gross and histopathologic inspection. The most frequent treatment in splenectomy.

Clinic case: A 30-year-old male with no medical history presented with generalized abdominal pain accompanied by Kehr's sign. He is diagnosed with ruptured spleen by contrast-enhanced computed tomography and successfully treated with splenectomy. He was discharged 6 days after surgery.

Conclusions: Spontaneous rupture of the spleen is uncommon, but with high morbidity and mortality. It must be a differential diagnosis in the face of abdominal and/or chest pain, and the corresponding imaging studies should be carried out if the patient's conditions allow it, or their search during an exploratory laparotomy.