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The Abdominal Jellyfish Sign: An Ultrasonographic Approach for Diagnosing Abdominal Collections — A Case Report

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Abstract

Ultrasound has become a valuable tool for detecting fluid accumulations due to its ability to reveal the nature of the fluid based on its appearance and anatomical location. This case report explores the use of ultrasound in diagnosing an abdominal collection suggestive of peritonitis by introducing an ultrasonographic dynamic sign. A 37-year-old patient, post-rectal tumor surgery, presented with abdominal pain, peritoneal reaction, and clinical deterioration necessitating intensive care. Point-of-care ultrasound revealed a hyperechoic, mobile, image with septa resembling a jellyfish in the subhepatic region, indicating a complicated fluid collection. Abdominal CT confirmed the presence of free fluid in perihepatic and left subphrenic regions. Subsequent surgery revealed peritonitis, anastomosis suture dehiscence, and successful management in the ICU. Recognizing the “abdominal jellyfish sign” and interpreting it appropriately within the relevant clinical context aids in the diagnosis of complicated abdominal collections. Further studies employing alternative methodologies will be necessary to confirm or refute the true significance of this sign in this context.

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Data will be made available on request.

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Not applicable.

Abbreviations

ICU :

Intensive care unit

POCUS :

Point-of-care ultrasound

CT :

Computed tomography

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Critical Care Medicine, Sanatorio De los Arcos, Juan B. Justo 909, CABA, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Issac Cheong & Raúl Alejandro Gómez

  2. Argentinian Critical Care Ultrasonography Association (ASARUC), Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Issac Cheong

Authors
  1. Issac Cheong
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  2. Raúl Alejandro Gómez
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Contributions

Conceptualization: RAG and IC. Methodology: IC. Formal analysis and investigation: IC. Writing — original draft preparation: IC. Writing — review and editing: IC. Supervision: IC.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Issac Cheong.

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Ethics Approval

Approval for this study was waived in accordance with the local regulations because this study is a case report of a single patient and did not include protected health information, data analysis, or testing of a hypothesis and was de-identified.

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Not applicable.

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Written informed consent was obtained from the individual for the publication of any potentially identifiable images or data included in this article.

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The authors declare no competing interests.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Imaging

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Cheong, I., Gómez, R.A. The Abdominal Jellyfish Sign: An Ultrasonographic Approach for Diagnosing Abdominal Collections — A Case Report. SN Compr. Clin. Med. 6, 15 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-024-01645-x

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s42399-024-01645-x

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