title: Spontaneous rupture of the liver in a patient admitted for subarachnoid hemorrhage.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Spontaneous rupture of the liver is a rare event often associated with the presence of malignant liver disease or occurring in the context of a HELLP syndrome. We present a case of spontaneous rupture of the liver in a patient admitted to our Intensive Care Department with hemoperitoneum in the aftermath of recent surgical clipping of a cerebral aneurysm.
  
  
  METHODS
  We report a 50-year-old woman who was transferred from the Bolzano Hospital Department of Neurosurgery to the Intensive Care Unit with anemia and the occurrence of major abdominal pain.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Spontaneous hepatic rupture remains a rare event, associated more often than not with pregnancy or traumatic events. The treatment of hemorrhage due to spontaneous rupture of the liver includes, in addition to serial monitoring of hemoglobin values, in cases of unstable patients, embolization, hepatic resection and packing.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The case described here shows that spontaneous rupture of the liver may be due to indefinable causes and that its treatment remains complex and multidisciplinary.
authors.affiliation: Department of Intensive Care, Regional Hospital of Bolzano, Italy. Electronic address: marianna.zatelli@asbz.it.
authors.forename: Marianna
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Zatelli
authors.affiliation: Department of Radiology, Regional Hospital of Bolzano, Italy. Electronic address: alessio.comai@asbz.it.
authors.forename: Alessio
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Comai
keywords: Angiography; Embolization; Hepatic resection; Liver rupture; Packing