Delayed presentation of large intra-abdominal wooden splinter after blunt trauma: a case report

Abstract

A 69‐year‐old man presented to the emergency department with a 24‐h history of epigastric and central abdominal pain. The pain was continuous, worse on movement and did not radiate anywhere. He experienced some intermittent nausea but no other gastrointestinal symptoms. The patient had been admitted to the same hospital 3 weeks prior with diarrhoea. Viral polymerase chain reaction of his stool at the time was positive for adenovirus, and a computed tomography (CT) of his abdomen showed subtle inflammatory changes in the distal ileum but no other abnormalities. He had a mechanical aortic valve replacement and he was anticoagulated with warfarin. His other medical history was dilated cardiomyopathy, atrial fibrillation, complete heart block, a permanent pacemaker and untreated hepatitis C.