Biomaterial Database

Hiccups: an unusual manifestation of an abdominal aortic aneurysm. 1979

R J Stine, and S J Trued

A patient with hiccups was found to have an abdominal aortic aneurysm that subsequently ruptured. We believe that a leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm led to an ileus-induced distention of the splenic flexure of the colon with consequent diaphragmatic irritation and phrenic nerve stimulation. This led to persistent hiccups as a result of repetitive stimulation of the reflex arc mediating hiccups. Persistent hiccups require investigation for an underlying organic etiology, and a leaking abdominal aortic aneurysm should be included in the differential diagnosis.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D008297	Male		Males
D006606	Hiccup	A spasm of the diaphragm that causes a sudden inhalation followed by rapid closure of the glottis which produces a sound.	Hiccough,Hiccoughs,Hiccups
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D000368	Aged	A person 65 years of age or older. For a person older than 79 years, AGED, 80 AND OVER is available.	Elderly
D001012	Aorta, Abdominal	The aorta from the DIAPHRAGM to the bifurcation into the right and left common iliac arteries.	Abdominal Aorta,Abdominal Aortas,Aortas, Abdominal
D001014	Aortic Aneurysm	An abnormal balloon- or sac-like dilatation in the wall of AORTA.	Aneurysm, Aortic,Aneurysms, Aortic,Aortic Aneurysms