Bleed caused by varicose veins rupture in a rare site in portal hypertension. Differential diagnosis with causes of acute hypovolemic shock in emergency.

Abstract

Portal hypertension is the increase in the pressure of the venous portal system, which receives around 1,500 mL/m of blood from the intestinum tenue, colon, spleen, and pancreas. A blocking of the flux or an increase in the resistance at any level of the portal tree results in an increase in the pressure in the system and the appearance of lateral circles between the portal vein and the inferior and superior, thus allowing for varicose veins to spread in the whole system. The present paper reports the case of a woman with liver cirrhosis, great ascites and bleeding out of varicose veins’ rupture at the spleen axis level, which presented the problem of differential diagnosis with other causes of hypovolemic shock. This cases resulted in the patient’s exitus.

Keywords

• rottura di varici
• ipertensione portale