Coumarin-induced intramural hematoma of the duodenum: case report and review of the literature

Needle-knife incision and drainage of duodenal intramural hematoma relieving duodenal and biliary obstruction

Video 1Case presentation.

Intestinal Spontaneous Intramural Hematoma Secondary to Anticoagulation Therapy: A Case Report

A common complication of anticoagulation therapy is bleeding, especially in patients receiving long-term vitamin K antagonists. Spontaneous intramural hematoma is a rare etiology among life-threatening major bleeds. An 80-year-old female patient presented with diffuse abdominal pain. Her history included ischemic heart disease and chronic atrial fibrillation treated with 3 mg of acenocoumarol per day. Three days before her admission, she developed diffuse abdominal pain with fecaloid vomiting, bloating, and not passing gas. Palpation of the abdomen revealed asymmetrical distension and pain, with no signs of peritoneal irritation or bleeding. Investigations showed anemia with a hemoglobin level of 9.2 g/dL, a white blood cell count of 14200/mm³, a C-reactive protein of 112.6 mg/L, and a prothrombin time of 75.1 seconds with an international normalized ratio (INR) of 8.5. Abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) showed segmental parietal thickening, luminal narrowing, and partial small bowel obstruction secondary to an intramural jejunum hematoma responsible for a gallbladder occlusion with infiltration of the mesenteric fat in front. The patient recovered two days after conservative treatment. In this case, we report an unusual small bowel intramural hematoma of the jejunum secondary to anticoagulant therapy. Physicians should be aware of this unusual cause of abdominal pain. Early diagnosis may avoid unnecessary surgical exploration.

Multimodality imaging of adult gastric emergencies: A pictorial review

Acute gastric emergencies require urgent surgical or nonsurgical intervention because they are associated with high morbidity and mortality. Imaging plays an important role in diagnosis since the clinical symptoms are often nonspecific and radiologist may be the first one to suggest a diagnosis as the imaging findings are often characteristic. The purpose of this article is to provide a comprehensive review of multimodality imaging (plain radiograph, fluoroscopy, and computed tomography) of various life threatening gastric emergencies.

A case of spontaneous intramural duodenal hematoma in a young African man: Imaging findings

Intramural duodenal hematoma has been reported as a rare condition first described by McLauchlan in 1838. It is now thought to be an uncommon condition due to the increase in the number of reported cases in the medical literature. It has been reported to usually occur secondary to blunt trauma mainly in young men and children, with 82% of the patients being younger than 30 years. Association between spontaneous intramural duodenal hematoma and coagulopathy, coagulating drugs, endoscopic procedures, acute pancreatitis, and pancreatic malignancy has been made. We present the case of a 35-year-old African male lumberjack with no known previous history of trauma, risk factors, or associated predisposing condition that presented to our facility with acute abdominal pain and vomiting and diagnosed as spontaneous intramural duodenal haematoma on CT scan and MR imaging with a complete resolution on conservative management.

Imaging of acute gastric emergencies: a case-based review

The stomach is one of the most frequently imaged organs in the body with dedicated and incidental inclusion in chest imaging modalities. Gastric emergencies often present clinically with non-specific abdominal, nausea, and vomiting. As such, imaging plays a critical role in early identification and treatment of a myriad of gastric emergencies. The goal of this paper is to showcase gastric emergencies as they appear on multimodality imaging.

Intramural duodenal hematoma: clinical course and imaging findings

Background

Intramural duodenal hematoma is a rare condition. Different imaging modalities are at hand for diagnosis.

Purpose

To identify patients with intramural duodenal hematoma and report imaging findings and clinical courses.

Material and Methods

Typical imaging patterns using ultrasound, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging were carried out on 10 patients.

Results

The mean patient age was 7.5 years. The average disease duration was 13 months. Clinical signs of improvement were observed within 16 days. Residues were still detectable at long-term follow-up.

Conclusion

For patients with intramural duodenal wall hematoma, diagnosis should be considered early. Typical imaging findings should be known to ensure optimal treatment.

Intestinal toxicity of oral warfarin intake in rats

Though warfarin is extensively used in the prevention and treatment of thromboembolic processes in humans, adverse effects of warfarin therapy have been recognized. Intestinal hemorrhage is one of the hazards of anticoagulant therapy, but the mechanisms of warfarin toxicity are virtually unknown. In this work, the effects of 30 days oral warfarin (0.35 mg/l and 3.5 mg/l) intake on rat's gut were examined. Both doses resulted in prolongation of prothrombin time. Systemic effects of higher warfarin dose (increases in plasma AST, proteinuria, hematuria, changes in peripheral blood hematological parameters) were seen. Warfarin intake resulted in histologically evident tissue damage, leukocyte infiltration and intestinal inflammation [increases in myeloperoxidase activity, malondialdehyde content, superoxide dismutase and catalase activity, proinflammatory cytokine (IFN-γ, IL-17) concentrations in intestinal homogenates]. In contrast, suppression of gut-draining mesenteric lymph node (MLN) cell activity [proliferation responsiveness, production of IFN-γ and IL-17 to T lymphocyte mitogen Concanavalin A stimulation] was noted. Inhibition of regulatory cytokine IL-10 production by MLN cells, suggests commitment of MLN to the suppression of all inflammatory activities and creation of the microenvironment which is non-permissive for induction of potentially harmful immune response. These novel findings indicate the need of staying alert for (adverse) effects of warfarin therapy.

Acute pancreatitis with an intramural duodenal hematoma

The patient was a 43-year-old man admitted to the hospital with intermittent epigastric pain and vomiting, without any evidence of trauma. Blood tests showed elevated lipase/amylase levels. Abdominal computed tomography (CT) revealed pancreatitis complicated by an intramural duodenal hematoma (IDH). He was conservatively treated, and one month after admission, follow-up panendoscopy showed normal duodenal mucosa without luminal narrowing. Non-traumatic IDH is typically associated with coagulation abnormalities. Abdominal CT is an excellent tool for diagnosis in cases of acute abdomen. However, the pathogenesis of and relationship between IDH and pancreatitis remain unknown.

Detection and management of spontaneous intramural small bowel hematoma secondary to anticoagulant therapy

Intestinal hematoma, once considered a rare complication of anticoagulation, has recently been increasingly reported. Spontaneous small bowel hematomas most commonly involve the jejunum, followed by the ileum and duodenum. They occur in patients who receive excessive anticoagulation with vitamin K antagonists or who have additional risk factors for bleeding. Diagnosis can be readily identified with sonography and confirmed with computed tomography. Early diagnosis is crucial as most patients can be treated successfully without surgery. Conservative treatment is recommended for intramural intestinal hematomas, when other associated complications needing laparotomy have been excluded.

The disappearing abdominal mass: a duodenal pseudotumour

Reports of inflammatory pseudotumours can be found in the literature affecting different organs of the body. The authors present a case and discuss the differential diagnosis of an inflammatory duodenal mass. Both symptomatology and radiological findings suggested a more sinister cause, such as a malignancy. However, histological analysis revealed normal mucosa and after conservative management the mass spontaneously resolved.