OPEN ACCESS
Anaphylactic Shock Diagnosed with Bedside Abdominal Ultrasonography and Com-
puterized Tomography
AMansur Kürşad Erkuran
1
, Serhat İldeş
1
, Arif Duran
1*
, Tarık Ocak
2
1
Abant Izzet Baysal University, İzzet Baysal Training and Research Hospital Emergency Medical Training Clinic, Bolu/TURKEY
2
İstanbul Kanuni Sultan Süleyman Training and Research Hospital Emergency Medical Training Clinic, İstanbul/ TURKEY
*Corresponding author: Dr. Arif Duran MD, Associate Professor in Emergency Medicine, Abant Izzet Baysal University Medical Faculty,
Department of Emergency Medicine, 14280 Golkoy – BOLU, TURKEY, Tel: +90 374 2534656; Fax: +90 374 2534615;
Email:drarifduran@gmail.com
Received: 02-19-2016
Accepted: 04-19-2016
Published: 04-23-2016
Copyright: © 2016 Arif Duran
Case Report
Cite this article: Arif Duran. Anaphylactic Shock Diagnosed with Bedside Abdominal Ultrasonography and Computerized Tomography.J J Emergency Med. 2016, 3(2): 029.
Highlights
1. Patients with hydatic cyst rupture may present with atypical anaphylactic shock signs such as pruritus, dyspnea and fatigue
in endemic areas.
2. If bedside ultrasonography of the liver in such patients indicates cysts, immediate anaphylaxis treatment with epinephrine is
recommended. Second line therapies should also be given.
3. Best diagnostic approach is abdominal computerized tomography.
Abstract
Aim: A comatose patient otherwise normal with no clues of medical history is a predicament not easy to solve. Focused abdom-
inal sonography in trauma (FAST) may also help physicians to guide the diagnosis in cases of severe shock with unknown cause.
Case: Here, we present a 29-year-old man with no known medical history who was brought to our emergency department (ED)
intubated due to unconsciousness, hypotension, severe dyspnea and pruritus. On arrival to our ED, his pulse was filiform, and
his extremities were cold and cyanotic. FAST examination to rule out trauma showed anechoic cysts in liver. His abdominal CT
revealed ruptured pouch of a hydatic cyst. He was hospitalized in ICU and in the surgery clinics for four and two days after sur-
gery, respectively. He was discharged with full recovery.
Conclusion: when patients with severe shock signs admit EDs in areas where animal husbandry is common, anaphylaxis due to
hydatic cyst rupture should be kept in mind. FAST and ensuing CT can give clues about cysts in the liver.
Keywords: Anaphylactic Shock; Severe Dyspnea; Hydatic Cyst Rupture
Introduction
A comatose patient otherwise normal with no clues of medi-
cal history is a predicament not easy to solve. A wide range of
diseases including severe infections, intracranial pathologies,
drug overdose and many other shock reasons should be ruled
out.
Focused abdominal sonography in trauma (FAST) has settled
down as a routine emergency practice. However, it may also
help physicians to guide the diagnosis in cases of severe shock
with unknown cause.
Here, we present a 29-year-old man with no known medi-
cal history who was brought to our emergency department
(ED) intubated due to unconsciousness, hypotension, severe
Jacobs Journal of Emergency Medicine