Spontaneous adrenal hematoma in pregnancy: A case report

Abstract

Abdominal pain is a very common complaint during pregnancy, which can be because of a number of causes including surgical, non-surgical and pregnancy related factors. A rare cause of abdominal pain is adrenal haemorrhage, which can be traumatic as well as spontaneous. The exact incidence of spontaneous adrenal haemorrhage in pregnancy is not known, however various autopsy series have shown it to be 0.3-1.8% in general population. We present a case report of 27 year female with pain abdomen. On further evaluation, she was found to have left adrenal lesion for which she underwent left sided adrenalectomy. Common causes of adrenal haemorrhage include trauma, stress like surgery, sepsis, burns, pregnancy, anticoagulation or coagulopathy. Spontaneous adrenal haemorrhage is a rare diagnosis in pregnancy and a high degree of suspicion is needed for diagnosis. A preoperative diagnosis of adrenal hematoma is difficult to make and is usually made postoperatively.