Open Access<p>Case Report: Sudden Splenic Rupture in a <em>Plasmodium falciparum</em>-Infected Patient</p>
Author(s) -
Nadeem Kassam,
Steven Michael,
Kamran Hameed,
Athar Ali,
Salim Surani
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
international journal of general medicine
Language(s) - Uncategorized
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.722
H-Index - 36
ISSN - 1178-7074
DOI - 10.2147/ijgm.s267197
Subject(s) - medicine , malaria , plasmodium falciparum , splenectomy , acute abdomen , plasmodium vivax , incidence (geometry) , complication , immunology , spleen , surgery , physics , optics
Spontaneous splenic rupture is a rare and life-threatening complication of severe malaria. It demands particular attention since delayed or missed diagnosis can be potentially fatal. The exact incidence is unknown largely due to underreporting. Acute malarial infection accounts for most of the spontaneous splenic rupture. Plasmodium vivax has been associated with the majority of them; however, on rare occasion, other Plasmodium infections have also resulted in splenic rupture. We report the case of a 74-year-old male who was diagnosed with severe malaria caused by Plasmodium falciparum ( P. falciparum ) infection and developed an acute abdomen while on treatment due to spontaneous splenic rupture which necessitated emergency splenectomy.