Showing papers by "Bethesda Hospital published in 1973"

Abdominal aortic aneurysms presenting as renal colic

Abstract: Patients with a dissecting abdominal aortic aneurysm may present a confusing history mimicking renal colic. A patient complaining of flank and groin pain, especially if this is followed by syncope and subsidence of pain, should arouse concern for the possibility of a dissecting aortic aneurysm. Four patients with dissecting abdominal aneurysms which mimicked renal colic are presented. All were males, between the ages of 55 and 77. Three had left flank pain radiating into the left groin; in the fourth these symptoms were on the right. In two, death occurred within hours, before the correct diagnosis was considered. A correct diagnosis brought the third patient to successful early surgery while the fourth died awaiting surgery. As an untreated dissecting aneurysm is lethal, this diagnosis must be entertained early. Patients with a symptom complex suggestive of renal colic should have the diagnosis of aneurysm carefully considered if a lethal outcome is to be avoided.