A rare case of splenic infarct presenting with acute abdominal pain due to polyarteritis nodosa: case report and review of the literature.

A 44 year-old man presented to the Emergency Department of American Hospital with severe pain persisting in the left upper quadrant for several hours. A computed tomographic scanning (CT scan) and celiac digital substraction angiography (DSA) of the abdomen demonstrated a splenic infarct. Histopathological examinations showed diffuse acute vasculitis, thrombosis, panvasculitis which led us to diagnose the case as "polyarteritis nodosa". The diagnosis is usually difficult to establish and it is usually delayed due to variable clinical manifestations dependent on the site and the extent of arterial involvement.