title: Emergency laparoscopic splenectomy for haemoperitoneum because of ruptured primary splenic pregnancy: a case report and review of literature.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Primary abdominal pregnancies are potentially life-threatening, particularly without an accurate preoperative diagnosis.
  
  
  METHODS
  A 41-year-old woman presented to the emergency room with 2 days-lasting left upper quadrant abdominal pain, irradiated to the left shoulder. An urine beta-human chorionic gonadotropin test was positive. Transvaginal sonography raised a suspicion of ectopic pregnancy. The patient was then submitted to abdominal laparoscopy that revealed no sign of active bleeding or ectopic pregnancy. Because of worsening of abdominal pain and progressive anaemia, the patient underwent abdominal ultrasound and multislice computerized tomography scan (TC) that showed the presence of a mass at the superior splenic pole with haemoperitoneum. The patient was taken to the operating room and submitted to a laparoscopic total splenectomy. The post-operative course was uneventful, and the patient was discharged 8 days after intervention.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Abdominal pregnancy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in women of reproductive age. Abdominal ultrasound and computerized tomography studies must be performed before operative treatment if an ectopic pregnancy is suspected and no intrauterine gestational sac could be showed on transvaginal sonography.
authors.affiliation: I Division of General and Oncological Surgery, Arcispedale Santa Maria Nuova, viale Risorgimento 80, 42100 Reggio Emilia, Italy. federico.biolchinif@asmn.re.it
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Biolchini
authors.forename: Alessandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giunta
authors.forename: Luciano
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Bigi
authors.forename: Celestino
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Bertellini
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Pedrazzoli
mesh_terms: D000006:Abdomen, Acute / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000601:surgery; D000328:Adult; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006465:Hemoperitoneum / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D006801:Humans; D010535:Laparoscopy; D011247:Pregnancy; D011269:Pregnancy, Abdominal / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery*; D013156:Splenectomy; D013161:Splenic Rupture / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery*; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed