Maria et al. International Journal of Emergency Medicine 2011, 4:13 CASE REPORT Open Access A unique cause of hemoperitoneum: spontaneous rupture of a splenic hemangiopericytoma Picozzi Stefano Carlo Maria1*, Massimo Mauri2 and Luca Carmignani1 Abstract Non-traumatic hemoperitoneum may be catastrophic if it is not promptly diagnosed and treated. It is critical to identify this clinical picture and treat any active bleeding. We report the first case in the literature (to our knowledge) of spontaneous hemoperitoneum caused by a cystic splenic hemangiopericytoma. Hemangiopericytomas represent a small subset of soft tissue sarcomas. They rarely originate in the spleen as a primary tumor, with only ten cases. | Maria et al. International Journal of Emergency Medicine 2011 4 13 http content 4 1 13 o International Journal of Emergency Medicine a SpringerOpen Journal CASE REPORT Open Access A unique cause of hemoperitoneum spontaneous rupture of a splenic hemangiopericytoma Picozzi Stefano Carlo Maria 1 Massimo Mauri2 and Luca Carmignani1 Abstract Non-traumatic hemoperitoneum may be catastrophic if it is not promptly diagnosed and treated. It is critical to identify this clinical picture and treat any active bleeding. We report the first case in the literature to our knowledge of spontaneous hemoperitoneum caused by a cystic splenic hemangiopericytoma. Hemangiopericytomas represent a small subset of soft tissue sarcomas. They rarely originate in the spleen as a primary tumor with only ten cases having been previously described. The difficulty of predicting the prognosis and clinical behavior of these lesions has been repeatedly stressed. The literature concerning this rare and unusual neoplasm is reviewed. Introduction Non-traumatic hemoperitoneum may occur spontaneously or may be iatrogenic. This uncommon and often unsuspected condition may be catastrophic if it is not promptly diagnosed and treated. The possible causes include hemorrhage from a highly vascular neoplasm pathological splenic rupture hemorrhage or rupture of an ovarian cyst rupture of the gestational sac or other affected anatomic part in an ectopic pregnancy bleeding from a vascular lesion anticoagulation therapy blood dyscrasias surgery and invasive procedures. It is critical to identify the clinical picture and treat any active bleeding promptly 1 . We report the first case in the literature to our knowledge of spontaneous hemoperitoneum caused by a cystic splenic hemangiopericytoma. Case Report A 70-year-old man was admitted to our Urology Department with a 2-month history of left-sided abdominal pain. There was no significant past medical or family history. Previous ultrasonography had .
