Abstract
BACKGROUND: Acute ischaemia of the small intestine is caused by mesenteric venous thrombosis in 5-15% of patients. The non-specific symptoms frequently lead to a diagnostic delay.
CASE DESCRIPTION: A 30-year-old pregnant woman presented at the accident and emergency department with progressive abdominal pain, nausea and vomiting. During admission the patient developed signs of peritonitis. Diagnostic laparoscopy revealed a picture of mesenteric venous thrombosis, and we resected 170 cm ischemic small intestine. No underlying cause was identified, apart from the pregnancy. The patient was treated with low-molecular-weight heparin and later gave birth to a healthy child.
CONCLUSION: If a patient presents with (unexplained) progressive abdominal symptoms and disproportional abdominal pain without peritonitis, the possibility of intestinal ischaemia should be considered during differential diagnosis.
| Translated title of the contribution | Mesenteric venous thrombosis during pregnancy; a rare cause of acute ischaemia of the small intestine |
|---|---|
| Original language | Dutch |
| Pages (from-to) | A9898 |
| Journal | Nederlands Tijdschrift voor Geneeskunde |
| Volume | 160 |
| Publication status | Published - 30 Jun 2016 |
Keywords
- Abdominal Pain/etiology
- Adult
- Delayed Diagnosis
- Female
- Humans
- Intestinal Diseases/etiology
- Intestine, Small/blood supply
- Ischemia/etiology
- Mesenteric Ischemia/complications
- Mesenteric Veins
- Peritonitis/etiology
- Pregnancy
- Pregnancy Complications, Cardiovascular/etiology