Spontaneous rupture of malarial spleen presenting as hemoperitoneum: a case report.

Malaria has been among the most common infectious diseases in India. The causative microorganism belongs to the Plasmodium family. The four common species that are encountered are Plasmodium falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae and P. ovale. Plasmodium falciparum infection carries more risk of complications such as cerebral malaria, acute renal failure, liver damage, collapse etc. Plasmodium vivax is considered to be benign but splenic complications are more common with P. vivax infections1. Spontaneous rupture of malarial spleen is uncommon even in the endemic regions of malaria. This may lead to delayed or missed diagnosis of splenic rupture which may be life threatening2. Very few case reports are available in literature documenting spontaneous rupture of malarial spleen1–6. We are reporting one such instance of malarial splenic rupture encountered in our department.