title: [Occult rupture of the spleen in a patient with infectious mononucleosis].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Rupture of the spleen can be secondary to abdominal traumas (usually closed trauma) or spontaneous, can interest an organ normal or with morphological alterations secondary to various pathologies. Among the diseases responsible of occult rupture, infectious diseases are the most frequent and, among these, infectious mononucleosis, that is complicated with splenic rupture in 0.5% of the cases, with 30% of mortality.
  
  
  METHODS
  P.M., 16 years old female, admitted with acute abdomen, progressive anaemia and incipient cardiovascular instability, associated with suggestive clinical diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis, confirmed by serological findings and histological examination. Because of the imaging of subcapsular splenic haematoma, probably ruptured and with peritoneal bleeding we opt for emergency laparotomy intraoperative findings allows to splenectomy.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Splenic rupture in infectious mononucleosis often presents as left hypochondrial pain, rare in uncomplicated cases; its occurrence in a patient with a recent diagnosis of infectious mononucleosis or with clinical or laboratory features suggestive of acute EBV infection, should always be investigated with an urgent abdominal ultrasound scan or CT. This approach is mandatory when hypochondrial pain is associated with pain referred to the left shoulder (Kehr's sign), peritoneal irritation and haemodynamic instability. Patients with splenic rupture in infectious mononucleosis generally undergo emergency splenectomy.
authors.affiliation: Università degli Studi di Messina, Scuola di Specializzazione in Chirurgia Generale I.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Bonsignore
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Grillone
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Soliera
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Fiumara
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Pettinato
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Calarco
authors.forename: L G
authors.initials: LG
authors.lastname: Angiò
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Licursi
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004630:Emergencies; D005260:Female; D004854:Herpesvirus 4, Human / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D007244:Infectious Mononucleosis / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery*; D012422:Rupture, Spontaneous; D013156:Splenectomy; D013161:Splenic Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000601:surgery* / Q000821:virology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome