A rare cause of acute abdominal pain

Abstract

Acute abdominal pain represents a challenge for the physician because it can hide a serious intra-abdominal pathology necessitating emergency intervention. A 65-year-old man presented to Emergency Department with sudden-onset abdominal pain. He underwent liver transplantation four years before. He complained tenderness on abdominal palpation. Blood chemistry and abdominal x-ray were normal. Contrast-enhanced computed tomography showed acute renal artery thrombosis. The patient underwent renal arterial thrombectomy and stent placement in less than two hours. Organ transplantation is a condition that makes patients at greater risk of life-threatening conditions. Renal artery thrombosis is a rare, severe and misdiagnosed condition which can benefit from a prompt cooperation among emergency physician, surgeon, and interventional radiologist. Transplant patients with acute abdominal pain should be considered at high risk of medical emergency. Acute renal artery thrombosis is a time dependent medical emergency in those patients with chronic drug-induced nephrotoxicity.