Successful nonoperative management of acute intraperitoneal hemorrhage due to undiagnosed polyarteritis nodosa.

We present a rare case of polyarteritis nodosa (PAN), where the initial presentation was intraperitoneal hemorrhage. The diagnosis was confirmed on angiography, and the patient was managed medically without laparotomy. PAN is an extremely rare cause of spontaneous intraperitoneal bleeding but must be carefully considered in the differential diagnosis in order to insure appropriate management of this group of patients.