• Min-Po Ho, Chih-Jung Chang, Chun-Yen Huang, Ching-Juing Yu, Kuang-Chau Tsai, Hsin-An Chen, and Wing-Keung Cheung.
• Department of Emergency Medicine, Far Eastern Memorial Hospital, Taipei, Taiwan.
• Am J Emerg Med. 2012 Mar 1;30(3):513.e1-3.

AbstractSpontaneous rupture of the short gastric artery is an extremely rare event that can cause abdominal apoplexy or spontaneous hemoperitoneum. For the emergency physician, simultaneous restoration of circulatory volume and a rapid diagnosis remain central to a successful outcome in such critical cases. We reported a 21-year-old man who initially presented with watery diarrhea and abdominal fullness followed by vomiting after the ingestion of alcohol but was later diagnosed with hemoperitoneum, resulting in hemorrhagic shock due to spontaneous rupture of the small branches of the short gastric artery. The patient underwent emergency exploratory laparotomy with a good outcome. Abdominal apoplexy should be considered in the differential diagnosis of unexplained hemorrhagic shock with an abrupt onset of severe abdominal pain associated with vomiting.

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