Yahng SA, Yoon JH, Shin SH, Lee SE, Eom KS, Kim YJ. Acute colonic pseudo-obstruction following allogeneic stem cell transplantation successfully treated by neostigmine.
Blood Res 2013;
48:145-8. [PMID:
23826585 PMCID:
PMC3698401 DOI:
10.5045/br.2013.48.2.145]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/05/2012] [Revised: 04/27/2012] [Accepted: 05/30/2013] [Indexed: 11/17/2022] Open
Abstract
Acute colonic pseudo-obstruction (ACPO), also known as Ogilvie's syndrome, is a rare clinical syndrome of massive large bowel dilatation without mechanical obstruction, which may cause significant morbidity and mortality. Treatment focuses on decompressing a severely dilated colon. The proposed theory that this severe ileus results from an imbalance in the autonomous regulation of colonic movement supports the rationale for using neostigmine, a reversible acetylcholinesterase inhibitor, in patients who failed conservative care. Although gastrointestinal complications are frequent following allogeneic stem cell transplantation (SCT), the incidence of ACPO in a transplant setting is unknown and, if not vigilant, this adynamic ileus can be underestimated. We describe the case of a patient with myelodysplastic syndrome undergoing non-myeloablative allogeneic SCT from a partially human leukocyte antigen-mismatched sibling donor, and whose clinical course was complicated by ACPO in the early post-engraftment period. The ileus was not associated with gut graft-versus-host disease or infectious colitis. After 3 days of conservative care, intravenous neostigmine (2 mg/day) was administered for 3 consecutive days. Symptoms and radiologic findings began to improve 72 hours after the initial injection of neostigmine, and complete response without any associated complications was achieved within a week. Thus, neostigmine can be a safe medical therapy with successful outcome for patients who develop ACPO following allogeneic SCT.
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