Acute Colonoscopy-Induced Splenic Rupture Presenting to the Emergency Department

Splenic rupture due to colonoscopy is a rarely reported event in the emergency medicine literature. Patients experiencing such an occurrence are likely to report to the emergency department. This paper documents an 84-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Monica D. Chow, Richard D. Shih
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Hindawi Limited 2013-01-01
Series:Case Reports in Emergency Medicine
Online Access:http://dx.doi.org/10.1155/2013/436874
Description
Summary:Splenic rupture due to colonoscopy is a rarely reported event in the emergency medicine literature. Patients experiencing such an occurrence are likely to report to the emergency department. This paper documents an 84-year-old female who presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and nausea less than 24 hours following a colonoscopy. An abdominal ultrasound revealed splenomegaly and free fluid. An abdominal computed tomography was significant for a splenic laceration. She underwent radiologic guided embolization and recovered without incident. Emergency medicine physicians need to consider splenic rupture as a differential in patients presenting after colonoscopy with abdominal pain.
ISSN:2090-648X
2090-6498