Acute Mesenteric Venous Thrombosis with a Vaginal Contraceptive Ring

• Main Authors: Wesley Eilbert, Benjamin Hecht, Loren Zuiderveld
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Published: eScholarship Publishing, University of California 2014-07-01
• Series: Western Journal of Emergency Medicine
• Online Access: http://escholarship.org/uc/item/89q33087

Mesenteric venous thrombosis is a rare cause of abdominal pain, which if left untreated may result in bowel infarction, peritonitis and death. The majority of patients with this illness have a recognizable, predisposing prothrombotic condition. Oral contraceptives have been identified as a predisposing factor for mesenteric venous thrombosis in reproductive-aged women. In the last fifteen years new methods of hormonal birth control have been introduced, including a transdermal patch and an intravaginal ring. In this report, we describe a case of mesenteric venous thrombosis in a young woman caused by a vaginal contraceptive ring. [West J Emerg Med. 2014;15(4):395-397.]