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| Image credit: Pxfuel |
Author: Christina Schramm, MSIV Medical Student
St. George’s University School of Medicine
AAEM/RSA Social Media Committee
A 31-year-old gravida 0, para 0 female patient presented to the emergency department with lower abdominal pain that started during sexual intercourse three days prior. She presented with abdominal distension, diffuse, constant, and cramping bilateral lower abdominal pain, referred pain to her shoulders, exertional dyspnea, orthostatic hypotension, and near-syncopal episodes. The patient reported constipation that turned to loose stools on day three. The patient denied fevers, vomiting, vaginal discharge or foul odor, vaginal bleeding, and dysuria. The patient had a past medical history of anemia and stated that her hemoglobin was within normal limits during her last routine blood draw. The patient had Mirena intrauterine device (IUD) inserted three years prior, and her last menstrual period was unknown. The patient had been in a mutually monogamous relationship with a male partner and stated no concern for sexually transmitted infection (STI). Differential diagnosis included IUD displacement, ectopic pregnancy, pelvic inflammatory disease, ovarian cyst rupture, ovarian torsion, and appendicitis.
