J Korean Soc Emerg Med.  2017 Apr;28(2):208-212. 10.0000/jksem.2017.28.2.208.

Acute Thrombosis of an Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Followed by Direct Abdominal Trauma: A Case Report

• Yoo YS
• Sun KH
• Park YJ
• Kim TH

• KMID: 2379830
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.0000/jksem.2017.28.2.208

Abstract

An abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a regional dilatation diameter of greater than 3 cm of the abdominal aorta. Clinical manifestations include abdominal pain with a pulsatile mass, back and/or leg pain; however, AAA is typically asymptomatic. A ruptured AAA can result in severe abdominal pain, back pain, and hypovolemic shock, and may result in eventual death. Cases of ruptured AAAs have been reported frequently and are typically encountered in emergency departments. However, acute occlusion of AAA is an uncommon vascular emergency with a high mortality rate. We encountered a patient with sudden-onset abdominal and back pain, coldness, paresthesia, and loss of motor function in both lower extremities after experiencing sustained abdominal compression for 3 minutes. Despite rapid diagnosis and treatment, the patient died 2 days post-operation due to reperfusion injury. This report discusses the rare occurrence of an acute occlusion of AAA due to thrombosis; our aim is to increase awareness of this diagnosis in emergency departments.

Keyword

Aortic Aneurysm; Abdominal; Thrombosis; Reperfusion injury

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain
Aorta, Abdominal
Aortic Aneurysm
Aortic Aneurysm, Abdominal*
Back Pain
Diagnosis
Dilatation
Emergencies
Emergency Service, Hospital
Humans
Leg
Lower Extremity
Mortality
Paresthesia
Reperfusion Injury
Shock
Thrombosis*