Spontaneous rupture of an infected pseudocyst of the pancreas: A case report

INTRODUCTION AND IMPORTANCE: A pancreatic pseudocyst is a known complication of acute and chronic pancreatitis. A pseudocyst rupture into the abdomen causes peritonitis, which can be fatal if surgical treatment is delayed. Here in we report the case of a 46-year-old woman presenting with a pancreatic pseudocyst doubly complicated with infection and rupture causing sepsis shock. CASE PRESENTATION: A 46 year-old-woman, with a history of chronic pancreatitis four years prior complicated with a pancreatic pseudocyst of 3 cm, presented to our emergency department with clinical signs of generalized peritonitis. After a brief resuscitation, we performed a midline laparotomy. It showed purulent peritonitis due to a rupture of an infected pseudocyst of the pancreas. We performed an abundant peritoneal toilet with drainage. The patient was discharged after 25 days. In the one month follow-up, there were no unfavourable outcomes. CLINICAL DISCUSSION: In presence of ruptured and infected pancreatic pseudocyst, surgical treatment should be performed as soon as possible after brief resuscitation. Laparotomy is the gold standard treatment. The main objective of surgical treatment is to perform abundant peritoneal toilet with large external drainage. In our case, the pancreatic pseudocyst didn't communicate with the Wirsung duct allowing us to withdraw the drainage. Otherwise, the drainage should be retained longer to treat the pancreatic leakage. CONCLUSION: Rupture and infection of pancreatic pseudocysts is a rare situation. Diagnosis is assessed via computed tomography scan. Emergency laparotomy should be performed timely to make the peritoneal toilet and drain the pancreatic pseudocyst.