Typhoid ulcer causing life-threatening bleeding from Dieulafoy's lesion of the ileum in a seven-year-old child: a case report

INTRODUCTION: We describe a case of rare complication of typhoid fever in a seven-year-old child and review the literature with regard to other rare causes of bleeding per rectum. Dieulafoy's lesion is an uncommon but important cause of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. Dieulafoy's lesion located extragastrically is rare. We report a case of typhoid ulcer with Dieulafoy's lesion of the ileum causing severe life-threatening bleeding and discuss the management of this extremely uncommon entity. CASE PRESENTATION: As a complication of typhoid fever, a seven-year-old Kurdish girl from Northern Iraq developed massive fresh bleeding per rectum. During colonoscopy and laparotomy, she was discovered to have multiple bleeding ulcers within the Dieulafoy's lesion in the terminal ileum and ileocecal region. CONCLUSION: Although there is no practical way of predicting the occurrence of such rare complications, we emphasize in this case report the wide array of pathologies that can result from typhoid fever.