Haemoperitoneum associated with cocaine abuse: a case report

Acta Chir Belg. 2007 Nov-Dec;107(6):690-2. doi: 10.1080/00015458.2007.11680148.

Abstract

Cocaine use is now relatively common in the occidental societies and is responsible for a long list of medical complications involving almost every organ system in the body. The digestive complications are less known. We report a case of a young man who presented to the emergency department with violent abdominal pain and several episodes of vomiting after using intranasal cocaine. The abdominal pain was caused by a massive haemoperitoneum with no evidence of any underlying pathology. This case shows that we have to consider the possibility of a lethal abdominal haemorrhage in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain in cocaine abusers.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Abdominal Pain / etiology
  • Adult
  • Cocaine-Related Disorders / complications*
  • Hemoperitoneum / etiology*
  • Hemoperitoneum / physiopathology
  • Hemoperitoneum / surgery
  • Humans
  • Laparoscopy
  • Male