Unilateral left spontaneous adrenal haemorrhage in a middle aged male. A case report

Abstract

BackgroundAdrenal haemorrhage is a rare condition, traditionally diagnosed at autopsy. Aetiology of adrenal haemorrhage can be traumatic or non-traumatic related. Rare cases of spontaneous adrenal haemorrhage, mostly from the right adrenal gland have been documented without any identifiable predisposing aetiologies. Case presentationA middle aged male with no comorbidities presented to the emergency department with non-specific signs and symptoms. There was no history of trauma and the haemoglobin was dropping. Initial investigations showed abdominal haematomas with no clear source. Taken to theatre, a diagnosis of a left spontaneous adrenal haemorrhage was made and left adrenalectomy was performed. ConclusionAdrenal haemorrhage is associated with severe complications such as adrenal insufficiency, sepsis and death. The following report will explore one such case, of a patient diagnosed with spontaneous left adrenal haemorrhage that was complicated by sepsis and death.