Appendicitis Research Today is a free monthly online journal that collates and summarizes the latest research about Appendicitis, including details on symptoms, surgery, causes, treatment.

Ovarian vein thrombosis: a rare cause of abdominal pain outside the peripartum period.

Heavrin BS, Wrenn K

Department of Emergency Medicine, Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nashville, Tennessee.

Ovarian vein thrombosis (OVT) is a rare cause of abdominal pain that may mimic a surgical abdomen. The differential diagnosis of OVT includes acute appendicitis, endometritis, pelvic inflammatory disease, pyelonephritis, nephrolithiasis, tubo-ovarian abscess, and ovarian torsion. The complications of OVT, including sepsis and pulmonary embolism, are significant. Diagnosis relies on a careful examination of the radiographic findings. This diagnosis should be considered not only in postpartum patients but also in women with pelvic inflammatory disease, recent abdominal surgery, malignancy, or known hypercoagulable state. In this report we present a case of OVT in a 29-year-old woman presenting with 3 days of sharp left-sided abdominal pain, nausea, and vomiting after bilateral salpingectomy. We then discuss the epidemiology, pathophysiology, and clinical management of OVT.

Published 15 January 2008 in J Emerg Med, 34(1): 67-9.
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