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Spontaneous splenic rupture

Last revised by Rohit Sharma ◉ on 3 Jan 2025

Citation, DOI, disclosures and article data

Citation:

Knipe H, Sharma R, Gaillard F, et al. Spontaneous splenic rupture. Reference article, Radiopaedia.org (Accessed on 24 Jan 2025) https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-43036

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.53347/rID-43036

Permalink:

https://radiopaedia.org/articles/43036

rID:

43036

Article created:

20 Feb 2016, Henry Knipe ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was created Henry Knipe had no recorded disclosures.

View Henry Knipe's current disclosures

Last revised:

3 Jan 2025, Rohit Sharma ◉

Disclosures:

At the time the article was last revised Rohit Sharma had no financial relationships to ineligible companies to disclose.

View Rohit Sharma's current disclosures

Revisions:

19 times, by 15 contributors - see full revision history and disclosures

Systems:

Gastrointestinal

Sections:

Gamuts

Tags:

emergency medicine, general surgery

Synonyms:

Non-traumatic splenic rupture
Idiopathic splenic rupture
Atraumatic splenic rupture (ASR)
Spontaneous splenic rupture (SSR)

Spontaneous splenic rupture (SSR) (also known as atraumatic splenic rupture) is rare, especially when compared to traumatic splenic rupture.

Pathology

The pathogenesis of atraumatic splenic rupture is not well understood. Splenomegaly is present in almost all patients (~95%), although the rupture of normal spleens (both in size and underlying histology) has been reported ³.

Etiology

There is a wide range of underlying causes ^1,2:

hematological malignancies, e.g. lymphoma, leukemia (~15%)
infections (~15%)
- viral, e.g. infectious mononucleosis, cytomegalovirus
- bacterial, e.g. infective endocarditis, tuberculosis
- parasitic, e.g. malaria
local inflammatory disorders, e.g. pancreatitis (~10%)
infectious mononucleosis (less than .5%)⁷
non-malignant hematological disorders, e.g. Langerhans cell histiocytosis
primary splenic neoplasms, e.g. angiosarcoma, hemangioma
amyloidosis (primary and secondary)
post-colonoscopy ⁴
sneezing ⁵
sarcoidosis ⁶

Radiographic features

Features are similar to splenic trauma with hemoperitoneum and perisplenic hematoma. The spleen is more likely to be enlarged in atraumatic ruptures ³.

References

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