Abstract:
BACKGROUND : Adrenal haemorrhage is a rare condition, traditionally diagnosed at autopsy. Aetiology of
adrenal haemorrhage can be traumatic or non-traumatic related. Rare cases of spontaneous adrenal
haemorrhage, mostly from the right adrenal gland have been documented without any identifiable
predisposing aetiologies.
CASE PRESENTATION : A middle aged male with no comorbidities presented to the emergency department
with non-specific signs and symptoms. There was no history of trauma and the haemoglobin was
dropping. Initial investigations showed abdominal haematomas with no clear source. Taken to theatre, a
diagnosis of a left spontaneous adrenal haemorrhage was made and left adrenalectomy was performed.
CONCLUSION : Adrenal haemorrhage is associated with severe complications such as adrenal insufficiency,
sepsis and death. The following report will explore one such case, of a patient diagnosed with spontaneous
left adrenal haemorrhage that was complicated by sepsis and death.
