Hemosuccus pancreaticus is a very rare cause of upper gastrointestinal bleeding in children. It is defined as bleeding from the pancreatic or peripancreatic vessels into the main pancreatic duct and may be life-threatening. We present the case of a 12-year-old boy with hematemesis and severe anemia that developed following an episode of acute pancreatitis. Upper endoscopy did not reveal a bleeding source. An endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography performed for the evaluation of common bile duct obstruction identified bleeding from the pancreatic duct. Subsequently, the bleeding source, a pseudoaneurysm of the splenic artery, was identified by conventional angiography and occluded with coil embolization. The diagnosis of hemosuccus pancreaticus may be difficult in children due to rare occurrence and the unusual anatomical site; hence, a high index of suspicion is needed in a patient with a history of pancreatitis who presents with intermittent upper gastrointestinal bleeding and normal upper endoscopy.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.