Topic summary
Splenic rupture
Extracted from the Wikipedia article Splenic injury.
Diagnosis
Splenic rupture is usually evaluated by FAST ultrasound of the abdomen. Generally this is not specific to splenic injury; however, it is useful to determine the presence of free floating blood in the peritoneum. A diagnostic peritoneal lavage, while not ideal, may be used to evaluate the presence of internal bleeding a person who is hemodynamically unstable. The FAST exam typically serves to evaluate the need to perform a CT scan. Computed tomography with IV contrast is the preferred imaging study as it can provide high quality images of the full peritoneal cavity.