Splenic Rupture Research Paper
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A splenic rupture can be traumatic, most common cause, or non-traumatic, secondary to an infection or neoplastic disease.15 A clinical presentation of a patient with a ruptured spleen may present with left shoulder pain, also called Kehr’s sign, and left upper abdominal pain.15,16,17 The left shoulder pain is considered referred pain as the ruptured spleen has irritated the phrenic nerve.17
In the case presented in the book, the therapist missed several red flags that could have keyed in on a ruptured spleen. This patient was hit during a soccer game where he fell on his left side, had constant shoulder pain, and presented with no shoulder movement dysfunction that were inconsistent with his pain.16 Therefore, the physical therapist