Author(s)

Isaac Obeng Asiedu^*, James Edward Mensah, Bernard Toboh, Marian Harrison, Ekins Kuuzie, Matthew Kyei, Yaw Amoah, Kenneth Klufio

Department of Urology, Korle Bu Teaching Hospital, Accra, Ghana.

Hiccups are involuntary spasms of the diaphragm with closure of the glottis. This involves a complex neural pathway which includes the phrenic, vagus and the sympathetic pathways, it is usually self-limiting and resolves within a few minutes after onset. Hiccups are described as chronic when it lasts more than 48 hours and intractable when it persists for more than a month. Intractable hiccups are said to have an organic cause in 80% of cases and the remaining 20% psychogenic in origin, Some of the organic causes of intractable hiccups include: liver cancer, adrenal tumours, and kidney tumours. We present a case of right renal cell carcinoma which presented as intractable hiccups and was successfully managed by performing a radical right nephrectomy.

Hiccups, Intractable Hiccups, Renal Tumour, Case Report

Asiedu, I. , Mensah, J. , Toboh, B. , Harrison, M. , Kuuzie, E. , Kyei, M. , Amoah, Y. and Klufio, K. (2022) Intractable Hiccups, an Unusual Presentation of Renal Cell Carcinoma. Open Journal of Urology, 12, 271-275. doi: 10.4236/oju.2022.125027.