Spontaneous Splenic Rupture: Case Report from Yekatit 12 Medical College Hospital, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Splenic rupture can be traumatic or non-traumatic (spontaneous). The spleen is the commonest solid organ injured in blunt abdominal injury. Spontaneous splenic rupture is rare and one cause of acute abdomen which can lead to morbidity and mortality. Among patients having spontaneous splenic rupture, majority of them have underlying splenic pathology of different causes such as hematologic, infectious, inflammatory, drugs or mechanical. In endemic area of malaria, spontaneous splenic rupture is one of fatal complication of severe malaria fortunately it is rare complication. In rare cases there may be no splenic pathology identified which is called idiopathic. The treatment of ruptured spleen is mainly splenectomy though there are cases reports of angioembolization as treatment option. Here we present a case report of 20 year old male patient who presented with diffuse abdominal pain of 3 days duration with signs of generalized peritonitis. During exploratory laparotomy, he was having ruptured spleen with blood in the peritoneum. He was managed with splenectomy and cross match transfusion after the bleeding was controlled. The patient was discharged improved after he took pentavalent vaccine. In conclusion, though spontaneous splenic rupture is rare over all there are different case reports of this condition and one has to consider it as differential diagnosis in patient who presented with acute abdomen of unclear causes and especially if the patient has underlying diseases or drugs that can affect the spleen.