A Rare Case of Recurrent Generalized Peritonitis Caused by Spontaneous Urinary Bladder Rupture after Radiotherapy: A Case Report and Literature Review

Abstract

Since generalized peritonitis is a fatal disease, accurate diagnosis and treatment are important. In this paper, we report a case of recurrent generalized peritonitis associated with spontaneous urinary bladder rupture (SBR). A 65 year old woman, who underwent radiotherapy 21 years prior, was diagnosed with generalized peritonitis. Although the cause of the generalized peritonitis could not be identified, the patient recovered with conservative treatment in short period. However, recurrent episodes of generalized peritonitis occurred four times. We diagnosed the patient with urinary ascites due to SBR, based on a history of radiotherapy and dysuria. No recurrence of generalized peritonitis had occurred after accurate diagnosis and treatment with long-term bladder catheter placement. Since SBR often occurs as a late complication after radiotherapy, it is difficult to diagnose SBR, which leads to delayed treatment. This case and literature review of similar cases suggest that the information of the following might be helpful in the diagnosis of SBR: (i) history of recurrent generalized peritonitis, (ii) pseudo-renal failure, (iii) history of radiotherapy, (iv) dysuria, and (v) increase or decrease of ascites in a short period. It is important to list SBR in the differential diagnosis by knowing the disease and understanding its clinical features. This case and literature review will serve as a reference for future practices.

Spontaneous (idiopathic) rupture of the urinary bladder: a systematic review of case series and reports

“…Once exclusion criteria were applied to the abstracts, 352 studies remained for full‐text review. After again applying the exclusion criteria to the full texts, a total of 278 manuscripts remained and were included in the final review […”