In malaria, splenic rupture is a serious complication potentially leading to death. Subcapsular hemorrhage of spleen is thought to be an impending sign of splenic rupture; however, the characteristics of subcapsular hemorrhage are not well known. We report 3 cases of subcapsular hemorrhage of the spleen in vivax malaria, with varying degrees of severity. Case 1 showed subcapsular hemorrhage without splenic rupture, was treated by antimalarial drug without any procedure. The healing process of the patient's spleen was monitored through 6 computed tomography follow-up examinations, over 118 days. Case 2 presented subcapsular hemorrhage with splenic rupture, treated only with an antimalarial drug. Case 3 showed subcapsular hemorrhage with splenic rupture and hypotension, treated using splenic artery embolization. They all recovered from subcapsular hemorrhage without any other complications. These 3 cases reveal the process of subcapsular hemorrhage leading to rupture and a potentially fatal outcome. The treatment plan of subcapsular hemorrhage should be determined carefully considering the vital signs, changes in hemoglobin, and bleeding tendency.
Gnathostoma spinigerum can cause subarachnoid hemorrhage (SAH). The detection of specific antibodies in serum against G. spinigerum antigen is helpful for diagnosis of neurognathostomiasis. There is limited data on the frequency of G. spinigerum infection in non-traumatic SAH. A series of patients diagnosed as non-traumatic SAH at the Srinagarind Hospital, Khon Kaen University, Thailand between January 2011 and January 2013 were studied. CT or MR imaging of the brain was used for diagnosis of SAH. Patients were categorized as aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (A-SAH) or non-aneurysmal subarachnoid hemorrhage (NA-SAH) according to the results of cerebral angiograms. The presence of specific antibodies in serum against 21- or 24-kDa G. spinigerum antigen was determined using the immunoblot technique. The detection rate of antibodies was compared between the 2 groups. Of the 118 non-traumatic SAH patients for whom cerebral angiogram and immunoblot data were available, 80 (67.8%) patients had A-SAH, whereas 38 (32.2%) had NA-SAH. Overall, 23.7% were positive for specific antibodies against 21- and/or 24-kDa G. spinigerum antigen. No significant differences were found in the positive rate of specific antibodies against G. spinigerum in both groups (P-value=0.350).
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