[Spontaneous splenic and renal rupture in polyarteritis nodosa]

Classic polyarteritis nodosa (PAN) is a rare necrotising vasculitis and can result in intrarenal or perirenal bleeding because of aneurysm formation. This report describes the case of a patient with severe manifestation of PAN who developed a subcapsular hematoma from a spontaneously ruptured aneurysm in the spleen and a retroperitoneal hematoma from a renal cortex aneurysm. For the first time angiographic controls have been documented over years in this disease. The value of angiographic procedures for diagnosis and for evaluation of the disease course of PAN is discussed.