J Korean Surg Soc.  2007 Jan;72(1):66-70.

Spontaneous Hemoperitoneum

• Yang KH
• Kim S
• Cho YH

Abstract

Spontaneous hemoperitoneum commonly presents as acute abdominal pain, and this malady is relatively rare and difficult to diagnose. It is defined as a presence of intraperitoneal blood that is not related to trauma. We usually consider some conditions to be associated with this event, i.e, hepatic, splenic, gynecological, vascular and coagulopathic causes. For the management of spontaneous hemoperitoneum, the decision to the treatment depends on the type of hemoperitoneum according to patient's conditions, although selected operations have been performed for it's management in the past. However there are many recent developments in diagnostic imaging modalities such as computed tomography and magnetic resonance imaging for identifying some of the causes. We recently experienced 4 cases of spontaneous hemoperitoneum that were unrelated to trauma or intraabdominal malignancies, and they all achieved satisfactory outcomes. One case was managed by surgical treatment; however, we couldn't determine it's cause. The other cases were managed by nonsurgical treatment. We report on theses cases along with including a review of the relevant literature.

Keyword

Spontaneous; Hemoperitoneum; Management

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain
Diagnostic Imaging
Hemoperitoneum*
Magnetic Resonance Imaging