Don’t discount rare events: The Splenic Abscess case
A recent medical case published in the site Medscape warrants attention. Here is the initial data on what happened to a 50-year-old man:
“He presents to the emergency department with a 2-day history of fever and persistent left upper quadrant pain that resulted from a minor blow. Three days before presentation, the patient was playing in his weekly soccer game when he was kicked in his left upper quadrant. Initially, he only felt some soreness in the affected region of his abdomen; however, the pain persisted. The following day, it intensified and was accompanied by a recorded fever of 38.9°C/102°F.
An episode of worsened pain occurred while the patient was trying to relax and watch a football game on the television”.
According to the records, the man was very healthy and did not regularly use any medication. He was very well evaluated by the medical team that attended to him and some tests were ordered, including a CT scan that revealed the presence of a splenic abscess.
Splenic abscesses are rare, and their diagnosis warrant caution because the clinical presentation is often nonspecific. In these cases, prompt diagnosis and early management are essential because this disease is associated with a high mortality rate. Some factors and/or previous diseases contribute to a higher mortality rate. In addition, some predisposing events for the appearance of splenic abscess are splenic infarction related to some clinical situations and splenic trauma. Infection of devitalized splenic tissue after splenic trauma is the cause of splenic abscess.
With the complementary investigation, the doctors in charge of the case considered the splenic trauma the patient had suffered recently was probably the cause for the appearance of the splenic abscess.
In cases of trauma to the left upper quadrant of the abdomen, the doctor may initially indicate the performance of a conventional radiography of the area affected by the trauma and, according to the radiographic findings, may indicate an ultrasound and also a CT scan, as occurred in the investigation and diagnosis of this patient.
Fortunately, for this patient, the search for medical help was timely and the percutaneous aspiration and drainage procedures guided by CT associated with antibiotic treatment were successful. Two weeks after discharge, the patient was well, and the drainage tube was removed.
Rare and serious medical situations can happen to us, even in healthy persons during or after playing sports. Always be attentive to the signals your body sends you. We need to take better care of our body, pay attention to the information it gives us, and seek early medical assistance. This can make a big difference in receiving adequate treatment and recovery.
References
- Lee, Mei-Chun, and Chun-Ming Lee. “Splenic abscess: an uncommon entity with potentially life-threatening evolution.” Canadian Journal of Infectious Diseases and Medical Microbiology 2018 (2018).
