Usefulness of Computed Tomography Imaging in Diagnosing Abdominal Compartment Syndrome: A Case Study

We report a case of a patient who developed abdominal compartment syndrome (ACS) after cesarean section, leading to cardiopulmonary arrest, but was saved without serious sequelae. The patient, 32 years old, gravida 1, para 0, developed hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) at 27 weeks' gestation, with fetal growth restriction and elevated liver enzymes, and underwent emergency cesarean section at 30 weeks' gestation. On postoperative day 1, persistent bleeding from the uterine cesarean section scar to the abdominal cavity was observed, and uterine artery embolization stopped the bleeding. On the second postoperative day, the patient experienced increased abdominal distention, leading to cardiopulmonary arrest shortly after computed tomography (CT) imaging. Based on the imaging findings, the patient was suspected to have ACS, and emergency abdominal decompression was performed. CT findings such as narrowing of the inferior vena cava, elevation of the diaphragm, and distention of the extra-abdominal venous system were useful in the diagnosis of ACS.