Diagnosis and Treatment of Atraumatic Splenic Rupture: Experience of 8 Cases

Abstract

Atraumatic splenic rupture (ASR) is rare but life threatening. In this study, we retrospectively described our experience on the diagnosis and treatment of 8 patients (male: 6; female: 2; mean age: 49.6) with ASR. ASR accounted for 3.2% (8/251) of the splenic ruptures. The clinical presentation of ASR was similar to traumatic splenic rupture (TSR). The sensitivity of ultrasound and contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CECT) in ASR diagnosis was 57.1% and 85.7%, respectively. According to the classification of the American Association for the Surgery of Trauma (AAST), 2 cases were classified as grade II splenic ruptures, 4 cases were classified as grade III ruptures, 1 case was classified as grade IV rupture, and 1 case was not classified. All the spleens became swollen, and hematomas were observed in 6 patients. Total splenectomy was recommended in most cases. At least 62.5% (5/8) of the patients with 7 etiological factors belonged to “atraumatic-pathological splenic rupture.” Local inflammation and cancer were the most common etiological factors.