A Lethal Complication of Endoscopic Therapy: Duodenal Intramural Hematoma

Duodenal intramural hematoma (DIH) usually occurs in childhood and young adults following blunt abdominal trauma. It may also develop in the presence of coagulation disorders and may rarely be an iatrogenic outcome of endoscopic procedures. Management of DIH is usually a conservative approach. A case of intramural duodenal hematoma that developed following endoscopic epinephrine sclerotherapy and/or argon plasma coagulation and that was nonresponsive to conservative therapy in a patient with chronic renal failure who died from sepsis is being discussed in this report. Clinicians should be aware of such possible complications after endoscopic hemostasis in patients with coagulation disorders.