Tamara McReynolds | PubMed Health

PubMed2004

Spontaneous splenic rupture.

Spontaneous splenic rupture is a rare entity. It is usually associated with infectious, neoplastic, or hematologic diseases. Unlike traumatic splenic rupture, spontaneous rupture of the spleen is not often considered in the differential diagnosis of abdominal pain and can be easily confused with other abdominal pathology. Failure to consider splenic rupture can be catastrophic. We report a case of atraumatic splenic rupture in a patient with no underlying disease pathology. This illustrates the importance of keeping a broad differential in patients presenting with acute abdominal pain and should remind the physician to consider the diagnosis of spontaneous nontraumatic splenic rupture.

Abdominal Pain↗

PubMed2004

Diagnosis and treatment of a ruptured ectopic pregnancy in a combat support hospital during Operation Iraqi Freedom: case report and critique of a field-ready sonographic device.

This case report describes a novel diagnostic approach for ectopic pregnancy in a combat environment. We diagnosed a ruptured ectopic pregnancy at our combat support hospital by using the SonoSite 180 Plus ultrasound device (SonoSite, Bothell, WA). The live ectopic pregnancy was immediately identified and the entire pelvic anatomy was easily assessed within 5 minutes. The SonoSite ultrasound device proved to be easy to use, durable, and reliable. It produced high-quality images in a variety of applications. The handheld SonoSite 180 ultrasound device is sufficiently portable to be used effectively in a combat support hospital or field situation, such as a forward surgical team. This combat experience suggests that a handheld ultrasound device may also have great utility during patient transport for civilian hospitals.

Adult↗