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Published on: November 15, 2024
Spontaneous idiopathic liver hemorrhage: a systematic review of a rare entity
Fabio Giannone1,2,3, Lorenzo Cinelli4, Arielle Bellissard5
1Department of Visceral and Digestive Surgery, University Hospital of Strasbourg, Nouvel Hôpital Civil, 1 Place de L'Hôpital, 67100, Strasbourg, France. giannone.cf@gmail.com.
Background:
Spontaneous idiopathic liver hemorrhage (SILH) is a rare life-threatening condition occurring without a clear and specific etiology. A systematic review was performed to provide guidelines for the perioperative management of patients affected by SILH. A case report was also included.
Methods:
A systematic search of the last 24-year literature was conducted and the manuscript was structured following point-by-point the PRISMA guidelines.
Results:
After an initial selection of 6995 titles, 15 articles were considered for the final qualitative analysis (n = 22 patients, including the present report). Conservative treatment was chosen in 12 cases (54.5%) with stable clinical conditions, while 9 patients (40.9%) required a primary operative approach for emergency presentation at diagnosis. Direct liver resection was the preferred surgical treatment (n = 6), mostly major hepatectomies (n = 4). Hepatic arterial embolization was performed as the primary operative approach in three patients, followed by emergency laparotomy during the same hospitalization because of rebleeding in one case. Contrast-enhanced CT scan was the gold standard for diagnosis (n = 19).
Conclusions:
Conservative treatment of SILH is mainly based on stable clinical conditions and may be considered even in case of a limited arterial blush found on imaging. The absence of underlying hepatic or systemic disorders seems to correlate with favorable outcomes and no mortality.
