1/29. A case of urachal remnant presenting as acute abdominal pain.A 30-year-old male presented to the Emergency Department, over sequential visits, with abdominal complaints. The patient's presenting history and physical examination were mistakenly diagnosed variously as gastroenteritis, omphalitis, and appendicitis. Ultimately, the diagnosis of urachal fistula was made at surgery. This case is discussed in light of prior published experiences with this disease entity.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/29. Primary epiploic appendagitis: an etiology of acute abdominal pain.Primary epiploic appendagitis has a nonspecific clinical presentation but pathognomonic appearance on computerized tomography. We report a patient who was promptly diagnosed and treated with conservative management, and review the literature. This entity has not been well described in the general medical literature. Epiploic appendagitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of atypical presentations of acute abdominal pain. Integration of a patient's history and physical exam with laboratory and computerized tomography findings allows a timely and confident diagnosis. Surgery is not necessary, but close follow-up is required.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/29. Laparoscopically assisted treatment of acute abdomen in systemic lupus erythematosus.The incidence of abdominal pain in patients with systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE) is very high. Most patients do not require surgical treatment (serositis). Some cases such as appendicitis, perforated ulcer, cholecystitis or, rarely, intestinal infarction are surgical. Differential diagnosis is difficult, partly because noninvasive examinations do not provide enough evidence to rule out a diagnosis. On the other hand, in patients with SLE who have acute abdomen, it is dangerous to delay surgery by attempting conservative therapy. In fact, a better survival rate has been associated with early laparotomy. We report a case of acute abdomen in a patient affected by SLE, in which the diagnostic problem was solved by means of laparoscopy and the treatment was laparoscopically assisted. A 45-year-old woman with a 25-year history of SLE was admitted with abdominal pain and fever. Her physical examination revealed a painful right iliac fossa with rebound tenderness. Her WBC count was normal. Abdominal x-ray, ultrasonography, paracentesis, and peritoneal lavage did not provide a diagnosis. A diagnostic laparoscopy was performed, showing segmentary small bowel necrosis. The incision of the umbilical port site was enlarged to allow a small laparatomy, and a small bowel resection was performed. The histopathologic finding was "leucocytoclasic vasculitis, with infarction of the intestinal wall." The patient recovered uneventfully. In conclusion, this case report shows that emergency diagnostic laparoscopy is feasible and useful for acute abdomen in SLE. Currently, this diagnostic possibility could be considered the technique of choice in these cases, partly because, when necessary, it also can allow for mini-invasive treatment therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/29. Rectus sheath hematoma in an elderly woman under anti-coagulant therapy.Rectal sheath hematoma has been a well-known clinical entity from the ruin of the ancient greece. It is relatively rare, however, to encounter this abdominal disorder in the clinical setting. Furthermore, the initial symptoms of rectus sheath hematoma are often similar to those of acute abdominal disorders. Therefore, the majority of the patients with rectus sheath hematoma have been treated with operative procedures because of the difficulty of a differential diagnosis from other abdominal disorders. We recently treated a 74-year female diagnosed with rectus sheath hematoma with the anticoagulants after an episode of cerebral infarction. From the findings of the physical examinations, ultrasound, and computed tomography, we could correctly diagnose, and could treat her with completely conservative methods without any invasive techniques. It is stressed that it is important to recognize this entity of rectus sheath hematoma when patients are examined, after complaining of acute abdominal pain and with evidence abdominal masses in the clinical setting.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/29. Appendiceal diverticulitis in a youth.Appendiceal diverticulitis as the etiology of right lower quadrant pain is an uncommon entity in younger populations. The incidence is <1 per cent among patients under 30 years of age undergoing appendectomy. Herein, we present a case of a 17-year-old male with perforated appendiceal diverticulitis. The history, physical findings, diagnosis, and treatment are outlined. Additionally the literature concerning appendiceal diverticulitis is reviewed.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
6/29. Acute abdomen due to wandering spleen infarction: a case report.We report a rare clinical case of acute abdomen due to partial infarction of a wandering spleen in the pelvis in a 60-year-old woman. The patient was suffering from stabbing pain in the external lower quadrant of the abdomen, irradiating back to the lumbosacral area, together with an unremitting feverish state (38 degrees C), sickness and constipation. After carrying out serological examinations, which revealed an increase in CPK and leukocytosis, ultrasonography and CT examinations were performed, revealing a mass in the left iliac cavity, which in all probability was a wandering spleen with an abnormally long pedicle and a dyshomogeneous lower area bearing witness to a splenic infarction. The patient was therefore submitted to surgery consisting in splenectomy after lysis of the adherences, which were plainly inflammatory. A wandering spleen, especially when infarcted, is a very rare clinical condition that may be congenital or acquired. Its presence can be confirmed by serological, ultrasonographical and CT examinations and must be suspected when there is no clearly defined acute abdomen.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.43555173808274keywords = suffering (Clic here for more details about this article) |
7/29. Strangulated umbilical hernia including a mesenteric cyst: a rare cause of acute abdomen.Mesenteric cysts are rare intra-abdominal lesions. They are usually diagnosed as an incidental laparotomy finding in adults but in childhood, they may present with acute abdomen. In this report, a 72-year old female was referred to our hospital, suffering from acute abdominal pain, several episodes of nausea and vomiting. Clinical abdominal examination revealed an irreducible recurrent umbilical hernia. The patient had both muscular defense and abdominal tenderness. Plain abdominal radiography showed multiple air-fluid levels. With these findings, a diagnosis of acute abdominal pathology was accepted and an urgent laparotomy was performed. A 5-cm-diameter mesenteric cyst was excised from the mesentery of the proximal jejunum and a prosthetic mesh was placed for incisional hernia. This is the first report of a strangulated umbilical hernia complicated with a mesenteric cyst.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.43555173808274keywords = suffering (Clic here for more details about this article) |
8/29. Internal hemorrhage caused by a twisted malignant ovarian dysgerminoma: ultrasonographic findings of a rare case and review of the literature.PURPOSE: Ovarian cancer presents as an acute abdomen very rarely. The purpose of the study is the description of a right ovarian malignant dysgerminoma presenting as an abdominal emergency. CASE: A 16-year-old white female presented with acute abdominal pain in the right iliac fossa. On physical examination the abdomen was acute and a mass in the right lower abdomen was palpated. The patient was sexually active and bimanual gynecological examination revealed the presence of a large lobulated solid tumor in the position of the right adnexa. Ultrasound examination showed the presence of a large, multilobulated, heterogeneous, predominantly solid pelvic mass. color flow imaging showed intratumoral flow signals. The uterus and the left ovary had normal size and echo-texture. Fluid was found in the cul-de-sac and in Morisson's space. An immediate exploratory laparotomy exposed the presence of a twisted right ovarian mass and intraperitoneal hemorrhage. A superficial tumoral vessel actively bleeding was seen. Peritoneal fluid was obtained for cytology. The intra-abdominal hemorrhage ceased when the ovarian pedicle was clamped. The patient underwent right salpingo-oophorectomy and biopsy of the omentum. Pathologic analysis revealed a malignant dysgerminoma of the right ovary, expanding to the mesosalpinx. Cytology was positive for malignancy. Postoperative CT scan of the upper and lower abdomen was negative. The patient was assigned to FIGO Stage IIC and referred for platinum-based chemotherapy. CONCLUSION: Ovarian malignant dysgerminoma may present as an acute abdomen because of torsion, passive blood congestion, rupture of superficial tumoral vessels and subsequent intra-abdominal hemorrhage. Ovarian dysgerminoma should be part of the differential diagnosis in a young woman with acute surgical abdomen and a solid heterogeneous pelvic mass detected by ultrasonographic scan.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
9/29. Spontaneous rupture of adrenal pheochromocytoma with capsular invasion.A 67-year-old Japanese man developed a sudden onset of severe right-side upper abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. On hospitalization, physical examination revealed sweating, tachycardia, hypertension and the appearance of peripheral vasoconstriction. An urgent computed tomography scan with contrast demonstrated a large hematoma in the right retroperitoneal space. A phentolamine test and an 131iodine metaiodobenzylguanidine scan suggested pheochromocytoma. An elective right adrenalectomy was successfully performed after pretreatment for sufficient volume replacement with continuous administration of alpha- and beta-adrenergic blocking agents. Pathological diagnosis was an adrenal pheochromocytoma 9.0 x 6.5 cm in diameter with evidence of capsular invasion, which could be associated with a tear in the capsule.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = physical (Clic here for more details about this article) |
10/29. Visceral larva migrans presenting as acute abdomen in a child.An unusual presentation of visceral larva migrans observed in a patient is reported. A 5-year-old boy suffering fever, abdominal pain, tenderness, and rigidity in the right lower and upper quadrant of the abdomen was operated on, with the false diagnosis of acute abdomen, and exploratory surgery was carried out. The pathological examination of the liver biopsy revealed eosinophil-rich necrotizing granulomatous inflammation with toxocara spp larva. The diagnosis was also confirmed by serologic results. Clinicians should remember that toxocaral visceral larva migrans may rarely mimic an acute abdomen and cause unnecessary operations.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 0.43555173808274keywords = suffering (Clic here for more details about this article) |
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