Tuesday, February 23, 2016

Hidden bleeds

So this is what my fellow asked me today: Say, there is a patient whose hemoglobin is dropping, dropping, dropping and he has barely any significant signs or symptoms.. Besides the GI tract, where else can you have a significant bleed which can be hidden? There are three such places.

Guess before you read the answer! :D


1. Retroperitoneal bleeds can be a source of significant yet occult blood loss.

2. A hematoma in the thigh can be surreptitious.

3. A hematoma in the upper arm, especially in obese patients can be hard to find.

The brain and the lung are limited in space, so it's hard to have massive bleeds in these areas without having symptoms.

I thought it was kinda cool to know so I shared it with you guys. Keep these things in mind while evaluating a patient with occult blood loss, especially in patients with bleeding diathesis.

That's all!

-IkaN

5 comments:

  1. Can it not be a bleed into peritoneum from a uterine vessel after c-section..?

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It can be... But a bleed into the peritoneum will cause peritoneal irritation, leading to localized or generalized pain in the abdomen and/or tenderness/rigidity. So it isn't always "hidden" and after a drop in 1 or 2 g/dL of hemoglobin, you will definitely diagnose it.

      In retroperitoneal bleeds, however, the hemoglobin might drop 6-8 g/dL and you still can't find the source.

      (PS: The list of differentials for peritoneal hemorrhage is huge.)

      Delete
    2. Here's the differentials for you, in case you were wondering! :D

      Gynecological:
      Ectopic pregnancy
      Ruptured ovarian cyst
      Uterine leiomyoma/leiomyosarcoma
      Ovarian granulosa cell tumor
      Ruptured corpus leuteum cyst
      Hyperemesis gravidarum
      Endometriosis
      Spontaneous uterine rupture

      Splenic:
      Chronic myelomonocytic leukemia
      Infectious mononucleosis
      Spontaneous splenic rupture
      Iatrogentic
      Spontaneous rupture of splenic vein
      Torsion and rupture of wandering spleen
      Hamartoma
      Primary splenic angiosarcoma

      Hepatic:
      Peliosis hepaticus
      Hepatic adenoma/adenomatosis
      Hepatocellular carcinoma
      Hemangioma
      Primary hepatic angiosarcoma
      Metastatic cancer
      Amyloid
      Focal nodular hyperplasia
      Biliary Ruptured cholangiocarcinoma
      Transhepatic rupture of gallbladder

      Vascular:
      Ruptured cystic artery pseudoaneurysm
      Ruptured splenic artery aneurysm
      Segmental mediolytic arteriopathy

      Gastric:
      Mixed cavernous-capillary hemangioma
      GIST

      Colonic:
      Meckel’s diverticulitis
      GIST

      Pancreatic:
      Ruptured pseudocyst

      Miscellaneous:
      Ruptured benign solitary fibrous tumor

      Delete

This is express yourself space. Where you type create something beautiful! <3
Wondering what do I write? Well...
Tell us something you know better. You are a brilliant mind. Yes, you are! ^__^
Ask about something you don't understand @_@?
Compliment... Say something nice! =D
Be a good critic and correct us if something went wrong :|
Go ahead. Comment all you like here! (:

PS: We have moderated comments to reduce spam. ALL comments that are not spam will be published on the website.