Haemoperitoneum Associated with Cocaine Abuse: A Case Report

Abstract

Cocaine use is now relatively common in the occidental societies and is responsible for a long list of medical complications involving almost every organ system in the body. The digestive complications are less known. We report a case of a young man who presented to the emergency department with violent abdominal pain and several episodes of vomiting after using intranasal cocaine. The abdominal pain was caused by a massive haemoperitoneum with no evidence of any underlying pathology.

This case shows that we have to consider the possibility of a lethal abdominal haemorrhage in the differential diagnosis of acute abdominal pain in cocaine abusers.

Key Words:

• Haemoperitoneum
• cocaine

Additional information

Notes on contributors

C. de Magnée

C. de Magnée Rue Auguste Latour, 138 B-1440 Braine-le-Château, Belgium Tel.: [phone] (France) +32.495.47.36.16 (Belgium) Fax: [phone] (Belgium) E-mail: [email protected]