Complications and extraintestinal problems in inflammatory bowel disease

Fungal sacral osteomyelitis as the initial presentation of Crohn's disease of the small bowel: report of a case

We report a unique case of Candida albicans sacral osteomyelitis in a 48 year-old female with previously undiagnosed Crohn's disease. The patient was ill for one year with fatigue, weakness, and a 60-lb weight loss. At the time of presentation, she developed chills, fever, right lower quadrant abdominal pain, and right knee pain. Physical examination was significant for a palpable right lower quadrant abdominal mass. A computed tomographic scan of the abdomen and pelvis identified a large right-sided retroperitoneal mass, severe right hydronephrosis, and air within the right sacrum. Findings at laparotomy included small-bowel changes consistent with Crohn's disease, a multiloculated retroperitoneal abscess, and evidence of sacral osteomyelitis. A right hemicolectomy with sacral debridement and placement of presacral drains was performed. Bone cultures from the sacrum demonstrated a predominance of C. albicans, in addition to coliforms and enterococcus. The patient was placed on amphotericin B and intravenous antibiotics. Because serial computed tomographic scans of her pelvis demonstrated progression of her pelvic osteomyelitis to include the sacrum, right ilium, right acetabulum, and right femoral head, a repeat debridement with resection of the right femoral head was performed. After 12 months of follow-up, she was doing well without medications and had no constitutional symptoms or radiographic evidence of disease progression. This report illustrates a unique case of Crohn's disease presenting as sacral osteomyelitis secondary to small-bowel fistulization. Aggressive multidisciplinary surgical and medical management were the key to the successful management of this difficult case.

Severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage in Crohn's disease

Twenty-one of fifteen hundred twenty-six patients with Crohn's disease (CD) treated at The Mount Sinai Hospital between 1960 and 1986 developed severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage. There were 26 separate episodes of severe hemorrhage: 17 patients bled only once, three bled twice and one bled three times. The frequency of bleeding was significantly higher among patients with colonic involvement (17 of 929; 1.9%) than among those with small bowel disease alone (4 of 597; 0.7%) (p less than 0.001). Twelve patients required surgery on 13 occasions, which involved colon resection in all but one case. Eleven of these patients underwent surgery during their first hemorrhagic episodes, and 1 of 11 had a second operation for recurrent bleeding; the 12th patient, whose first hemorrhage had been treated medically, had surgery during a repeated episode of hemorrhage. The precise bleeding points could be located in only 2 of the 26 bleeding episodes, both at the ileocecal area. Three patients died, of whom two had not undergone surgery when they had bled a few weeks earlier. Primary bleeding episodes subsided without surgery in 10 of 21 cases, but 3 of these 10 patients (30%) rebled massively. By contrast primary excisional surgery was followed by recurrent hemorrhage in only 1 of 11 cases (9%). These differences in mortality and in recurrent bleeding rates, although not statistically significant, seem to favor removal of diseased bowel at the time of the first episode of massive hemorrhage.

Management of severe hemorrhage in ulcerative colitis

Twenty-five patients with ulcerative colitis were treated between 1959 and 1986 at the Mount Sinai Hospital, with severe gastrointestinal hemorrhage as their major complaint. Twenty-two patients required operation, while three patients were treated medically. Total proctocolectomy with ileostomy was carried out in 5 patients, and subtotal colectomy accompanied by mucous fistula (14), Hartmann closure (2), or ileosigmoidostomy (1) was performed in 17 patients. Eleven of the patients who underwent operation had emergency colectomies, while the remaining 11 had semielective procedures. Subtotal colectomy was performed in 10 of the 11 emergency cases. Indications for emergency surgery were massive hemorrhage alone in seven patients and severe hemorrhage complicated by toxic megacolon in four patients. One patient died postoperatively of a perforated duodenal ulcer following emergency subtotal colectomy. There were two late deaths from leukemia in one surgically treated patient and one medically treated patient at 9 and 18 months, respectively. All 4 of the 25 patients with remaining intact rectums were alive and well at 3- to 12-year follow-up. Subtotal colectomy can be undertaken in patients with massive hemorrhage from ulcerative colitis for whom subsequent ileoanal anastomosis is planned, provided that one recognizes and is prepared for the approximately 12% risk of continued rectal hemorrhage.

Cutaneous Crohn's disease and progressive vitiligo

A patient with Crohn's colitis rapidly developed violaceous papules and plaques on the thigh, breast, and back during an exacerbation of colitis. Biopsy specimens of lesional bowel and skin showed noncaseating granulomatous inflammation consistent with Crohn's disease. The rare occurrence of granulomatous skin lesions widely separated from the perirectal area, previously reported as metastatic Crohn's disease, is reviewed, and the additional finding of concomitant vitiligo with a possible linked pathogenesis is briefly discussed.

The association of pyoderma gangrenosum with ulcerative colitis in Japan

A patient with pyoderma gangrenosum (PG) and ulcerative colitis (UC) is described. He had melena and systemic skin lesions. The skin lesions consisted of small discrete ulcers on the back and head and large punched-out ulcers on the legs. He was successfully treated with prednisolone and salazosulfapyridine. He became asymptomatic after two weeks' treatment. Although the association of PG with UC is well documented among Caucasians, it is very rare among Japanese.

Peripheral corneal disorders

The peripheral cornea is anatomically and physiologically distinct from its central counterpart. The major differences relate to the gradual transition of corneal tissues to those of the conjunctiva, episclera, and sclera; furthermore, the vascular structures, lymphatics, and inflammatory cells from these neighboring structures are intimately associated with the limbus and periphery of the cornea. The peripheral cornea is thereby predisposed to three main classes of disorders which do not normally involve the central cornea. First, local conditions affecting the sclera and conjunctiva may secondarily spread to involve the limbus and peripheral cornea. These include several infectious diseases, as well as hypersensitivity conditions, mass lesions, and degenerations. Second, due to the associated blood vessels and lymphatics, the peripheral cornea may be involved in a variety of systemic diseases, including vasculitides, autoimmune disorders, and abnormal metabolic conditions. Finally, there are several conditions, such as the noninflammatory peripheral degenerations, which primarily affect the peripheral cornea without associated ocular or systemic changes. In this review, we present a classification and discussion of the various disorders which may involve the peripheral cornea.

Severe osteomalacia associated with renal tubular acidosis in Crohn's disease

Severe renal tubular acidosis associated with massive osteomalacia is described in a patient with Crohn's disease. To our knowledge this association has not been previously recognized. The possible role of renal tubular acidosis in this patient's osteomalacia is discussed and the factors that could be involved in renal tubular acidosis in the context of Crohn's disease are analyzed.

Liver abscess complicating Crohn's disease presenting as thoracic empyema. Case report and review of the literature

A 28-year-old man with a history of Crohn's disease presented with right pleuritic pain and dyspnea. Chest radiography showed a right pleural effusion. Thoracocentesis yielded purulent fluid that subsequently grew Enterobacter aerogenes. Computed axial tomography of the abdomen revealed right subphrenic abscess and right hepatic lobe abscess. Antibiotic therapy and surgical drainage resulted in complete recovery. A review of the English literature produced 18 cases of liver abscess complicating Crohn's disease. Details of 14 of these cases are summarized.

Computed tomography evaluation of local and extraintestinal complications of Crohn's disease

Complications of Crohn's disease were demonstrated by computed tomography of the abdomen and pelvis in 7 patients. Four patients had developed abscesses, 2 located in the psoas region and 2 involving the retroperitoneum or the liver. Other abnormalities documented on CT included inflammatory masses, fistulae, carcinoma, mesenteric thickening, and extraintestinal complications such as gallstones, renal calculi, and sacroileitis. Computed tomography was found to be useful in the detection and follow-up of abdominal complications of Crohn's disease.

The influence of disease at the margin of resection on the outcome of Crohn's disease

Sixty-seven patients with Crohn's disease undergoing 81 resections followed by a restorative procedure were reviewed to evaluate the influence of microscopic disease at the margin of resection on the recurrence rate. The average follow-up after resection was 5.6 +/- 2.8 years. The resectional margins were classified into three groups depending on the microscopic appearance of the most involved margin. Recurrent disease developed in 36 per cent of the resections without microscopic evidence of Crohn's disease, while 38 per cent of the resections with signs of Crohn's disease developed a clinical recurrence. The recurrence rate increased with the follow-up time, but was independent of microscopical disease at the resectional margins. Therefore we recommend restricted resection of macroscopically diseased bowel. Microscopical involvement does not seem to increase the recurrence rate.

'Nodular necrobiosis': a new cutaneous manifestation of Crohn's disease?

A skin lesion previously unassociated with Crohn's disease is described. Although superficially resembling erythema nodosum it runs a different clinical course and has different histological appearances, the central feature being necrobiotic collagen. The term ;nodular necrobiosis' is suggested.