Abstract
Atraumatic ruptures of the spleen are usually associated with hematologic and infectious diseases.Spontaneous splenic rupture without any underlying causative diseases is very rare. We report the case ofa spontaneous splenic rupture in a 13-year-old female admitted to hospital for a sudden abdominal pain.Abdominal computed tomography revealed multiple low-density areas in the spleen and intra-peritonealbloody ascites. Soon after a diagnosis of splenic rupture was made, a surgical operation was performed.Blood and clots totaling 700ml were aspirated from the peritoneal cavity, and a capsular tear in the lowerpole of the spleen was found; a splenectomy was therefore performed. The cut surface of the resectedspecimen revealed multiple hematomas of the spleen. On pathological examination, no findings of neoplasmwere found. The patient had no history of trauma, inflammation, hematologic abnormalities, vasculardisease, or any underlying causative diseases, such as neoplasm, so the case was diagnosed as a spontaneoussplenic rupture. The patient was discharged without complications on postoperative day 10. Spontaneoussplenic rupture should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain in patients withno history of trauma or underlying causative diseases.
