Autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease and minimal trauma: medical review and case report.

BACKGROUND: Blunt abdominal trauma in the setting of polycystic kidney disease is still scantly described in the literature and management guidelines of such patients are not well-established.

CASE PRESENTATION: The authors herein present a case of hypovolemic shock secondary to segmental renal artery bleed in a 75-year-old man with polycystic kidney disease after minimal blunt abdominal trauma, who underwent successful selective arterial embolization, and provide a thorough review of similar cases in the literature, while shedding the light on important considerations when dealing with such patients.

CONCLUSIONS: It is important to suspect renal injury in patients with pre-existing renal lesions irrespective of the mechanism of injury; and, vice-versa to suspect an underlying abnormality in patients with a clinical deterioration that's out of proportion to the mechanism of injury.