Case report of a young female with early presentation of spontaneous splenic rupture in infectious mononucleosis

Abstract

Spontaneous splenic rupture is a well known, yet very rare complication of infectious mononucleosis with an estimated incidence of 0.06% to 0.5%. It primarily affects teenagers and young adults and is the leading cause of death in infectious mononucleosis. There is a 9% mortality rate associated with spontaneous splenic ruptures; in all lethal cases a rupture occurs within the first 10 days of symptoms onset from infectious mononucleosis. The present case report concerns a young female, who presented with abdominal pain, vomiting and positive Kehr’s sign two days after the onset of infectious mononucleosis symptoms. The patient was diagnosed with a spontaneous splenic rupture due to infectious mononucleosis and was treated operatively by laparotomy and splenectomy. The patient was successfully treated, and had no post operative complications.