Clinical Practice and Cases in Emergency Medicine (Aug 2024)
Loculated Fluid Visualized in Hepatorenal Space with Point-of-care Ultrasound in Patient with Pelvic Inflammatory Disease Caused by Group A Streptococcus: Case Report
Abstract
Introduction: Point-of-care ultrasound (POCUS) is a screening and diagnostic modality frequently used in the emergency department to assess patients with abdominal pain. Case Report: We present a case describing the unusual finding of intraperitoneal fluid with loculations visualized in the right upper quadrant of the abdomen in a patient ultimately diagnosed with pelvic inflammatory disease (PID) with ruptured tubo-ovarian abscess caused by group A streptococcus (GAS), a pathogen rarely implicated in the disease. Conclusion: Uncommon findings on abdominal POCUS should trigger further investigation. In a patient not responding to antibiotics administered for typical PID coverage, GAS should be considered as a possible etiology and a penicillin-based antibiotic administered to prevent progression to tubo-ovarian-abscess formation, peritonitis, and sepsis.