Etiology and management of toxic megacolon in patients with human immunodeficiency virus infection.

We report six cases of toxic megacolon in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). One case, at an early stage of HIV infection, mimicked a severe attack of Crohn's disease, with a negative search for infectious agents. Subtotal colectomy was successfully performed with an uneventful postoperative course. The five other cases concerned patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome at a late stage of immunodeficiency. They were related to Clostridium difficile or cytomegalovirus (CMV) intestinal infection in two and three patients, respectively. One case of CMV colitis presented macroscopically and histologically as pseudomembranous colitis. Emergency subtotal colectomy, performed in the first four patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome was followed by a fatal postoperative outcome. The last patient treated conservatively by colonoscopic decompression, in association with anti-CMV therapy, had a favorable short-term outcome. From the experience of our series and data from the literature, we discuss the best diagnostic and therapeutic approach to toxic megacolon in patients with HIV.

[Hartmann's procedure. A retrospective study of 86 cases]. / L'intervention de Hartmann. Etude rétrospective de quatre-vingt-six cas.

The purpose of this retrospective study is to define current indications and results of Hartmann's procedure (H). From 1978 to 1989, 86 H were performed, 52 (60%) as emergency surgery. Indications were: colo-rectal cancer (37): 15 complicated and 22 as an elective procedure, diverticular disease acute or complicated (24), ischemic colitis (10), volvulus of the pelvic colon (5), inflammatory bowel disease (4), colonic perforation (3), traumatic hematoma of the sigmoid mesocolon (1). Fourteen patients died after operation (mean age: 79). There was no death after elective H for cancer. Post-operative complications were numerous: pulmonary (25%), abdominal would sepsis or disruption (21%), rectal strump leakage (14%), the later being harmless due to the associated Mickulicz drainage. Seven patients were reoperated on for necrosis of the colonic stoma. Mean initial hospital stay was 31 days. Restoration of the gastrointestinal continuity was done in 27 cases (37% of the surviving patients, 76% of the diverticular diseases). The authors conclude that for complicated diverticular disease H procedure improves survival without preferable continuity. For cancer, H procedure is permanently compromising gastrointestinal in the elderly to hazardous low anastomosis, and to palliative abdomino-perineal resection.

[Value of peroperative scintigraphy in detecting accessory spleens]. / Intérêt de la scintigraphie peropératoire pour repérer les rates accessoires.

We report a case of accessory spleen, 1 cm in diameter, responsible for recurrence of an idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura after splenectomy. This case is original in that the accessory spleen could only be detected by transoperative scintigraphy. Transoperative scintigraphy is a simple method to be used when one or several unrecognized accessory spleens are responsible for recurrence of a blood disease after excision of the principal spleen.

[Treatment of acute obstruction due to left colonic cancer]. / Traitement des occlusions aiguës par cancer du côlon gauche.

Retrospective study on 47 patients (23 men, 24 women); mean age was 70.2 years. The mean delay of complete obstruction was 6.95 days. There were associated pathology and clinical factors of gravity in 53.2%, and local factors of gravity in 43.9% of all cases. Three steps surgery in 22 cases (46.8%), two steps in 14 cases (29.7%): 6 "ideal" colectomies (12.7%), 5 colostomies alone (10.6%). Mortality: 3 patients died (6.8%), post operative complications occurred in 22 patients (46.8%); morbidity due to colostomies itself was 37.4%. All first step-colostomies, except one, has been closed after colectomy. The mean duration of total stays in hospital was 31.5 days, according with the surgical procedure in one (14.3 days), two (37.9 days) or three (43.2 days) steps. Duration of complete obstruction, bioclinical status of patients, staging and complications of the cancer and surgeon's experience are determining therapeutic choices. The choice for colostomy as first step is the best policy. In this series the mortality of the colostomy as first step was none. It must be performed with elective incision, on free colic segment (transverse or sigmoid), with the simplest technical procedure (loop colostomy). Others surgical procedures have only peculiar indications.