Gastric Artery Apoplexy Presenting as an Acute Abdomen in an Adolescent

Nontraumatic abdominal apoplexy, which is the occurrence of hemorrhage into the peritoneal cavity, is uncommon in the pediatric literature. Adult case reports of nontraumatic abdominal apoplexy include visceral artery aneurysms from the aorta, splenic, celiac, hepatic, gastric, and gastroepiploic arteries as well as gynecologic pathology. We identified 2 case reports of spontaneous abdominal apoplexy due to injury of the short gastric arteries in adult patients with histories of vomiting after alcohol consumption. This is the first reported case of nontraumatic abdominal apoplexy due to injury to the short gastric arteries in a pediatric patient.