Failure of conservative management after the passage of a distal colonic "cast": report of a case

Passage of a sigmoid colon cast in a patient with ischemic colitis

Colon cast passage, which is the spontaneous passage of a full-thickness, infarcted colonic segment per rectum, is a rare occurrence. The main cause is acute ischemic colitis resulting from a circulation compromise. Most of the colon cast cases reported were secondary to abdominal aortic aneurysm repairs or colorectal surgery. We report a case of an 80-year-old woman with ischemic colitis who excreted a 20-cm colon cast. In most cases that involve a colon cast containing a muscle layer component, invasive therapy is required owing to colonic obstruction or stenosis. However, in the present case, the colon cast consisted only of a mucosa layer and was not associated with severe stenosis or obstruction; therefore, it was successfully treated by conservative therapy. Histologic examination of the colon segment may be crucial in determining the appropriate treatment.

Passage of intestinal (small bowel) cast--an unusual complication of neutropenic sepsis

A 52-year-old woman was admitted with neutropenic sepsis, 3 days following the final cycle of adjuvant chemotherapy for breast cancer. Her condition deteriorated with progressive abdominal distension, bilious vomiting and diarrhoea. Abdominal examination revealed a mild degree of peritonism. Five days later she passed a small bowel cast per rectum, showing gross fungal contamination on histology. She was managed conservatively with antibiotics and antifungal medications and nutritional support.

Defecation of a "colon cast" as a rare presentation of acute graft-versus-host disease

Diffuse involvement of the gastrointestinal tract by graft versus host disease (GVHD) is a common complication of allogeneic hematopoietic stem cell transplant (HSCT). Gastrointestinal GVHD usually presents 3 or more weeks after HSCT and is characterized by profuse diarrhea, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain and gastrointestinal bleeding. We report a case of a 23-year-old male who had undergone allogeneic HSCT and presented with bloody diarrhea on the 90th day post-HSCT. On the fourth day of admission, the patient passed per rectum a 27-cm long pinkish colored fleshy material recognized as a "colon cast". Sigmoidoscopy showed a congested and erythematous rectum with the remaining portion of the "colon cast" attached to the proximal part of the sigmoid colon. A biopsy from the rectal wall was suggestive of grade IV GVHD. The patient was treated with methylprednisolone, cyclosporin and mycophenolate mofetil, with a partial response (diarrhea and abdominal pain improved), but then he developed multiple other medical complications and died after 3 months.

Passage of "colonic cast" after colorectal surgery: report of four cases and review of the literature

Anal passage of a full-thickness infarcted colonic segment (so-called "cast") not accompanied by any features of acute peritonitis is a very rare occurrence and may be the main advertising manifestation of acute colonic ischemia. Most of the reported cases of acute colonic ischemia are secondary to abdominal aortic aneurysms and ensuing inferior mesenteric artery thrombosis or to the repair of these aneurysms. The preceding events causing ischemia in other cases are Hartmann reversal, rectal resection and colonic J-pouch construction, and acute pancreatitis. In this article we present our experience on four cases of colonic cast passage, all of which developed subsequent to colorectal resection. Three of these casts are supposed to be mucosal and one is transmural. Generally, surgery is the rule and consists of the resection of the concerned ischemic segment. Every clinician should be aware of this form of presentation of bowel ischemia, not only following aneurysm surgery but also in the postoperative course of colorectal surgery.