Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyria

Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), one of the most severe types of acute hepatic porphyria, is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder of heme biosynthesis. We present a case of a 16-year-old girl who presented with severe abdominal pain, subjected to a laparotomy and later developed seizures and...

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Main Authors: Tehreem Farah, Hania Batool, Nasir Ashraf, Fatima Qayyum Abbasi, Aisha Nasir
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Pakistan Medical Association 2024-10-01
Series:Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
Subjects:
Online Access:https://jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/10209
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author Tehreem Farah
Hania Batool
Nasir Ashraf
Fatima Qayyum Abbasi
Aisha Nasir
author_facet Tehreem Farah
Hania Batool
Nasir Ashraf
Fatima Qayyum Abbasi
Aisha Nasir
author_sort Tehreem Farah
collection DOAJ
description Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), one of the most severe types of acute hepatic porphyria, is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder of heme biosynthesis. We present a case of a 16-year-old girl who presented with severe abdominal pain, subjected to a laparotomy and later developed seizures and other neurological manifestations. Initial investigations showed hyponatraemia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of brain showed cerebritis. She underwent several investigations including an ultrasound of abdomen, a computed tomography scan of abdomen and pelvis, cerebrospinal fluid routine examination and culture, and autoimmune investigation which were found to be normal. HM urine porphobilinogen levels were found to be raised. The diagnosis was made based on investigation and clinical symptoms. AIP should be suspected when a patient presents with chronic abdominal pain and neurological symptoms. Keywords: Acute Intermittent Porphyria, false laparotomy, appendicitis, acute abdomen, hyponatremia, tonic-clonic seizures.
format Article
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institution DOAJ
issn 0030-9982
language English
publishDate 2024-10-01
publisher Pakistan Medical Association
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series Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
spelling doaj-art-6d2bb12b6c1543bc989b5521c22a1bf22025-08-20T02:40:43ZengPakistan Medical AssociationJournal of the Pakistan Medical Association0030-99822024-10-01741110.47391/JPMA.10209Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyriaTehreem Farah0Hania Batool1Nasir Ashraf2Fatima Qayyum Abbasi3Aisha Nasir4Department of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of Obstetrics and Gynaecology, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanDepartment of General Medicine, Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences, Islamabad, PakistanFinal Year MBBS Student, Federal Medical College, Islamabad, PakistanFinal Year MBBS Student, Dera Ghazi Khan Medical College, Dera Ghazi Khan, Pakistan Acute intermittent porphyria (AIP), one of the most severe types of acute hepatic porphyria, is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder of heme biosynthesis. We present a case of a 16-year-old girl who presented with severe abdominal pain, subjected to a laparotomy and later developed seizures and other neurological manifestations. Initial investigations showed hyponatraemia. Magnetic Resonance Imaging of brain showed cerebritis. She underwent several investigations including an ultrasound of abdomen, a computed tomography scan of abdomen and pelvis, cerebrospinal fluid routine examination and culture, and autoimmune investigation which were found to be normal. HM urine porphobilinogen levels were found to be raised. The diagnosis was made based on investigation and clinical symptoms. AIP should be suspected when a patient presents with chronic abdominal pain and neurological symptoms. Keywords: Acute Intermittent Porphyria, false laparotomy, appendicitis, acute abdomen, hyponatremia, tonic-clonic seizures. https://jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/10209Acute Intermittent Porphyriafalse laparotomyappendicitisacute abdomenhyponatremiatonic-clonic seizures
spellingShingle Tehreem Farah
Hania Batool
Nasir Ashraf
Fatima Qayyum Abbasi
Aisha Nasir
Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyria
Journal of the Pakistan Medical Association
Acute Intermittent Porphyria
false laparotomy
appendicitis
acute abdomen
hyponatremia
tonic-clonic seizures
title Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyria
title_full Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyria
title_fullStr Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyria
title_full_unstemmed Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyria
title_short Worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy: a case of acute intermittent porphyria
title_sort worsening abdominal pain leading to false laparotomy a case of acute intermittent porphyria
topic Acute Intermittent Porphyria
false laparotomy
appendicitis
acute abdomen
hyponatremia
tonic-clonic seizures
url https://jpma.org.pk/index.php/public_html/article/view/10209
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AT nasirashraf worseningabdominalpainleadingtofalselaparotomyacaseofacuteintermittentporphyria
AT fatimaqayyumabbasi worseningabdominalpainleadingtofalselaparotomyacaseofacuteintermittentporphyria
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