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Arch Intern Med. 2001;161:1009-1010.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

A diagnosis of occult intra-abdominal bleeding is usually considered in patients with a predisposing condition. Hemoperitoneum will be readily considered in the differential diagnosis of patients who have been injured, who are treated with anticoagulants, who have a known abdominal tumor when they exhibit the signs and symptoms of hypovolemia, or who have a falling hematocrit. However, idiopathic occurrence of hemoperitoneum is rare, and therefore poorly recognized, which may cause a dangerous diagnostic delay.

Report of a Case

A 78-year-old nursing home resident was referred to our hospital after being found pale, diaphoretic, and complaining of abdominal pain. She was markedly obese, diabetic, and hypertensive, with a history of hemiplegia following stroke, recurrent urinary tract infection, and iron-deficiency anemia. Findings of physical examination were otherwise unremarkable, and the patient was hemodynamically stable. Laboratory studies showed the following: hemoglobin level, 77 g/L (mean corpuscular volume, 79 fL); white blood cell count, 11.2 x 10⁹/L; . . . [Full Text of this Article]

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