Emergency Department Diagnosis of Dietl Crisis in a 7-Year-Old Girl With Abdominal Pain

Pediatr Emerg Care. 2016 Jun;32(6):386-7. doi: 10.1097/PEC.0000000000000339.

Abstract

Children with Dietl crisis often experience a delay in diagnosis, with the clinical entity being underdiagnosed. Pain is caused by compression of an aberrant artery crossing dilated kidney. Pain is often worsened after the consumption of liquids and resolves after fluid reabsorption. There are no clear criteria for evaluating ureter obstruction in childhood abdominal pain in the emergency department setting; however, it has been suggested that ultrasound may aid in the diagnosis. As renal parenchyma is typically preserved, and there is a paucity of associated urological complaints, once properly diagnosed, most patients are well served by a pyeloplasty.

Publication types

  • Case Reports

MeSH terms

  • Abdominal Pain / diagnosis
  • Abdominal Pain / etiology*
  • Abdominal Pain / surgery
  • Child
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Diagnostic Imaging
  • Emergency Service, Hospital
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Hydronephrosis / complications*
  • Hydronephrosis / diagnosis
  • Hydronephrosis / surgery
  • Ureteral Obstruction / complications*
  • Ureteral Obstruction / diagnosis
  • Ureteral Obstruction / surgery