RAPID IDENTIFICATION OF RUPTURED ABDOMINAL AORTIC ANEURYSM USING POINT-OF-CARE ULTRASOUND IN THE EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT: A CASE REPORT

Received 2020-10-31; Accepted 2021-03-08; Published 2021-10-07

Authors

  • Siti Nur Izni Sheik Muhamed Amin Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Kevin Wong Chuing Shen Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
  • Ahmad Khaldun Ismail Department of Emergency Medicine, Faculty of Medicine, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Jalan Yaacob Latif, Bandar Tun Razak, 56000 Cheras, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22452/jummec.vol24no2.14

Abstract

A ruptured abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) is a catastrophic cardiovascular emergency which carries high risk of morbidity and mortality. Clinical manifestation includes severe abdominal pain, back or flank pain, syncope, hypotension, gastrointestinal bleeding and cardiovascular collapse. Misdiagnosis is often due to atypical presentation and results in fatal consequences. Rapid diagnosis of ruptured AAA is essential because it influences the patient’s prognosis. Timely and accurate diagnosis can be made in the Emergency Department using point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) which has high sensitivity and specificity. We report a case of an elderly male who came with non-specific abdominal pain to the Emergency Department. Timely diagnosis of ruptured AAA was made with POCUS. The diagnosis was made by a non-radiologist using POCUS, however, the decision for ruptured AAA repair was only
made by surgical team following computed tomography scan of the abdomen.

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Published

2021-10-07

Issue

Vol. 24 No. 2 (2021)

Section

Research article

License

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