Williams Jennifer, Ima Shumona, Milrod Charles, Krishnamurthy Mahesh
College of Medicine, Drexel University, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Department of Medicine, Easton Hospital, Easton, PA, USA.
J Community Hosp Intern Med Perspect. 2018 Oct 15;8(5):296-299. doi: 10.1080/20009666.2018.1517578. eCollection 2018.
Splenic infarct is an incredibly rare diagnosis for abdominal pain. One study involving two hospitals over ten years describes only 0.0037% of all hospital admissions presenting with splenic infarction. Our report describes a case of massive splenomegaly causing pain in a different location compared to the normal anatomical location of the spleen with an unexpected cause, lymphoma. High clinical suspicion for lymphoma as a cause of splenic infarction is critical because this disease can otherwise be clinically silent. This case emphasizes the importance of a thorough clinical workup and persistence in diagnostic pursuit.