Praxis

We report the case of a 29-year-old patient who presented in the emergency room with severe abdominal pain. After initially inconspicuous medical history and laboratory evaluation, repeated focused history taking led to the correct diagnosis: a paintball projectile had left its mark. The patient had suffered a third-degree rupture of the spleen with delayed manifestation two weeks after the trauma. He could be successfully managed with an organ-preserving non-operative approach.