Splenic Infarctions in Polycythaemia Vera are Not Always a Catastrophe

ELMustafa Abdalla; Muzamil Musa; Motwakil Musa; Ahmed Hatem; Abdalla Fadul; Ashraf Oe Ahmed

doi:10.12890/2022_003370

Splenic Infarctions in Polycythaemia Vera are Not Always a Catastrophe

Eur J Case Rep Intern Med. 2022 Jun 29;9(6):003370. doi: 10.12890/2022_003370. eCollection 2022.

Authors

ELMustafa Abdalla¹, Muzamil Musa¹, Motwakil Musa¹, Ahmed Hatem¹, Abdalla Fadul¹, Ashraf Oe Ahmed¹

Affiliation

¹ Department of Internal Medicine, Hamad Medical Corporation, Doha, Qatar.

Abstract

Splenic infarction can occur as an infrequent thrombotic manifestation in polycythaemia vera (PV) and is usually catastrophic. We describe the case of a middle-aged woman who was diagnosed with PV 3 months before she presented to the emergency department with acute limb ischaemia. A splenic infarction detected on diagnostic imaging during her hospital stay was treated conservatively with modification of her hydroxyurea dose along with pain management, without the need for surgery.

Learning points: Multiple splenic infarctions are an uncommon presentation in polycythaemia vera.Patients can present with vague abdominal pain, so a high index of suspicion is necessary and diagnosis is usually radiological.Splenic infarction in polycythaemia patients can be treated successfully with hydroxyurea and pain management with aspirin.

Keywords: PV; infarction; polycythemia vera; spleen.