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Phlegmonous colitis: another source of sepsis in cirrhotic patients?

BACKGROUND: The clinical relevance of phlegmonous colitis (PC), a rare autopsy finding in cirrhotic patients, is poorly documented. We postulated that PC might be a source of sepsis in patients with portal hypertensive colopathy (PHC). CASE PRESENTATION: We report three cirrhotic patients who were a...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores principales: Holzer, Thomas, Gervaz, Pascal, Spahr, Laurent, McKee, Thomas, Bucher, Pascal, Morel, Philippe
Formato: Texto
Lenguaje:English
Publicado: BioMed Central 2009
Materias:
Acceso en línea:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2800109/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20003486
http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1471-230X-9-94
Descripción
Sumario:BACKGROUND: The clinical relevance of phlegmonous colitis (PC), a rare autopsy finding in cirrhotic patients, is poorly documented. We postulated that PC might be a source of sepsis in patients with portal hypertensive colopathy (PHC). CASE PRESENTATION: We report three cirrhotic patients who were admitted with abdominal sepsis and who illustrate, to various degrees, the clinico-pathological sequence of colonic alterations associated with portal hypertension. Two cirrhotic patients with PHC developed gram-negative bacteraemia and quickly responded to intravenous antibiotics. Another cirrhotic patient underwent emergency colectomy for PC, and subsequently died from multiple organ failure. Histological alterations in the operative specimen included: a) mucosal ulcerations; b) disseminated micro-abscesses in the submucosa; and c) a severe vasculopathy leading to complete obliteration of submucosal blood vessels. CONCLUSIONS: These data suggest that cirrhotic patients with PHC may progress towards PC, which, in turn, may be the cause for life-threatening sepsis.