Le Journal médical libanais. The Lebanese medical journal
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Review Case Reports
[Spontaneous splenic rupture due to heparin. Report of a case and review of the literature].
We describe in this report a case of spontaneous rupture of the spleen in a 68-year-old man on heparin therapy for cerebrovascular disease. This spontaneous splenic rupture is a rare complication of anticoagulant or thrombolytic therapy. Twenty cases were reported in the world medical literature. ⋯ It is possible that altered hemostatic mechanisms may aggravate unrecognized micro trauma to provoke a rupture of the spleen. Once the rupture is suspected, the diagnosis can be confirmed with CT scan, or ultrasound. The treatment will be mainly reversal of anticoagulation and splenectomy.