A miniseries of spontaneous intramural esophageal hematoma in hemodialysis patients: A rare cause of dysphagia

Abstract

Intramural esophageal hematoma (IEH) is an uncommon clinical condition, with a prognosis that is essentially benign. In most cases, a predisposing factor may be seen, with the most common being the history of esophagic instrumentation, food impactions, and thrombocytopenia. We report a miniseries of 3 patients on hemodialysis, who developed IEH. All 3 of them presented with sudden onset and progressively worsening dysphagia and hematemesis. Diagnosis of IEH was established by upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. All patients were managed conservatively, and symptoms of dysphagia and chest pain improved within 6-8 days. Good resolution of hematoma was noted by repeat endoscopy within 2-3 weeks. The reported case of IEH in hemodialysis patients is rare and needs to be identified early when patients present with dysphagia, as anticoagulation during hemodialysis would possibly worsen the clinical condition, the course of which is otherwise benign.