Abdominal pain in a patient with a complex history (case report)

Purpose: A 79 yr.-old woman was admitted to our hospital because of amaurosis due to an obliteration of her left central artery and was treated with ASS. 4 days earlier she had had a car crash without any abdominal cutaneous marks. Material and methods: Laboratory tests showed a significant elevation of the infectious parameters CRP and sedimentation rate as well as antinuclear antibodies. An initial abdominal x-ray showed no abnormalities, the following CT scan pictured thickening of the mesenteric root and, assuming a vasculitic abdominal involvement, the patient was put on steroids, backed up with antibiotics…