Spontaneous Renal Artery Thrombosis: An Unusual Cause of Acute Abdominal Pain in the Emergency Department

Abstract

Abdominal pain is a frequent complaint in the Emergency Department and thrombosis of the renal artery is an uncommon diagnosis for abdominal pain. Although the diagnosis is rare and can be difficult to make, a delayed diagnosis can lead to grave complications. This is the case of a middle-aged man who presented in the Emergency Department with left iliac fossa pain; the clinical features were not specific, and he was diagnosed with a left renal infarction. With this case, we want to remind emergency practitioners of the diagnosis and show that even late (more than six hours) thrombolysis can improve kidney perfusion and function.

Keywords: acute abdominal pain; catheter-directed thrombolysis; renal; renal artery; renal artery thrombosis; spontaneous; thrombosis.