Spontaneous gall bladder haemorrhage in a renal dialysis patient following haemodialysis with tinzaparin

Spontaneous gall bladder haemorrhage is a rare and serious occurrence with a few cases reported in the literature in haemodialysis patients. This report describes this complication following dialysis with a low-molecular-weight heparin (LMWH) tinzaparin. This patient presented with acute right upper quadrant pain and intermittent haematemesis following 4 hours of haemodialysis. Despite being well established on dialysis, LMWH had only been used once previously. There was no history of trauma or pre-existing gall bladder pathology and no clinical or biochemical evidence of inflammation or infection. Computed tomography (CT) scan revealed an extensive gall bladder haemorrhage. The patient was treated conservatively with analgesia, and blood transfusion and symptoms settled without intervention. This case report highlights a rare site of bleeding following LMWH use in a haemodialysis patient.