A rare life-threatening disease: unilateral kidney compressed by huge chronic spontaneous retroperitoneal hemorrhage

Contemporary management of spontaneous retroperitoneal and rectus sheath hematomas

BACKGROUND

Retroperitoneal and rectus sheath hematomas can occur spontaneously. There is a lack of research about the disease progression, optimal treatment strategies and the need for surgical intervention. Our study investigated their outcomes and management.

STUDY DESIGN

Adult patients admitted during a one-year period with non-traumatic retroperitoneal or rectus sheath hematomas were retrospectively identified. Biographical, hospital-course, and outcome data were extracted.

RESULTS

99 patients were included; median age was 73-years (IQR 61-80). 88 patients were on an anticoagulant or antiplatelet agent. Warfarin and intravenous heparin being the most commonly utilized agents (42% and 36.4%, respectively). All 99 patients were diagnosed by CT scan. 79 patients received some sort of blood product (79.8% PRBC, 43.4% FFP, 17% platelets), and 26 patients were in hemorrhagic shock. 17 patients underwent angiography and/or angioembolization. Neither anticoagulation in general nor any specific agent was associated with the need for blood product transfusion or angiography. 13 patients died but none were attributable to the hematoma.

CONCLUSION

Both hematomas are usually self-limiting and rarely require surgical intervention. A subset may require angioembolization.

Spontaneous Retroperitoneal Bleeding in a Patient with Primary Antiphospholipid Syndrome on Aspirin

Retroperitoneal bleeding is a rare and difficult to diagnose condition, defined as bleeding in the retroperitoneal space without associated trauma or iatrogenic manipulation. It has been associated with hematologic diseases and malignancies and is more common in patients receiving systemic anticoagulation. A 50-year-old man on aspirin presented with abdominal pain. Physical examination revealed abdominal tenderness and a palpable mass at the left abdominal area. An abdominal CT revealed a spontaneous retroperitoneal hematoma due to bleeding of an intraparenchymal branch of the left renal artery. The patient underwent left nephrectomy in order to control the bleeding. Pathology of the kidney showed evidence of acute and chronic microangiopathy, renal artery stenosis, and renal vein thrombosis. Further work-up led to diagnosis of primary antiphospholipid syndrome. Treatment of spontaneous retroperitoneal bleeding varies from conservative in hemodynamically stable patients to invasive or even surgery in hemodynamically unstable patients. In our case, open surgery was performed due to the rapidly deteriorating patient's condition and the inability to embolize the bleeding vessel by interventional radiology. Physicians should always think of retroperitoneal bleeding in patients presenting with abdominal pain and signs of hypovolemia, especially if they have a bleeding disorder or receive anticoagulants or antiplatelets.