Medical image of the week: splenic infarction

No abstract available. Article truncated after 150 words. A 52-year-old Hispanic woman with a past medical history significant for Type 1 Diabetes Mellitus, hypertension, and rheumatoid arthritis presented with left upper quadrant pain for one day. Her review of systems was positive for bloating, severe epigastric and left upper quadrant tenderness that radiated to the back and left shoulder, nausea with non-bilious emesis, and diarrhea for one day prior to admission. Physical exam only revealed epigastric and left upper quadrant tenderness to light palpation without rebound or guarding. Abdominal computed tomography of the abdomen demonstrated a new acute or subacute splenic infarct with no clear evidence of an embolic source in the abdomen or pelvis (Figure 1). Echocardiogram with bubble study and contrast did not demonstrate valve abnormalities, cardiac mass, vegetation, valve or wall motion abnormalities and no evidence of patent foramen ovale. Splenic infarction should be suspected when patients present with sharp, acute left upper quadrant pain ..