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Spontaneous splenic rupture following the administration of intravenous heparin: Case report and retrospective case review
Author(s) -
Ghobrial Michel W.,
Karim Mohammad,
Mannam Sunitha
Publication year - 2002
Publication title -
american journal of hematology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.456
H-Index - 105
eISSN - 1096-8652
pISSN - 0361-8609
DOI - 10.1002/ajh.10214
Subject(s) - medicine , hemoperitoneum , heparin , unstable angina , etiology , splenic artery , surgery , coronary care unit , emergency department , medical record , abdominal pain , shock (circulatory) , intensive care unit , chest pain , myocardial infarction , psychiatry
We report the case of a 40‐year‐old African‐American female who presented to the Emergency Department with unstable angina. The patient, who had multiple risk factors for coronary artery disease, was admitted to the coronary care unit for cardiac work‐up and management. Shortly after the intravenous administration of unfractionated heparin, she suffered the acute onset of upper abdominal pain and shock. A CT scan of the abdomen revealed splenic rupture with hemoperitoneum. The patient, who was managed surgically, had complete recovery before discharge. A review of systems and medical records revealed no obvious risk factors or other potential etiology for this rupture. We herein provide the characteristics of this rarely documented causal relationship between heparin and spontaneous splenic rupture and retrospectively review similar cases in the literature. Am. J. Hematol. 71:314–317, 2002. © 2002 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.