Intestinal pneumatosis as a manifestation of systemic sclerosis.

A 60-year-old female patient was admitted to the emergency room for a 7-day history of abdominal bloating, nausea, vomiting, constipation, and lack of flatus. She had been diagnosed with systemic sclerosis (SSc) 10 years ago and had been using methotrexate, sildenafil, and prednisone. She did not present any signs of instability, but physical examination showed malnourishment status and abdominal tenderness and distention. Plain abdominal radiography was suggestive of sigmoid volvulus, confirmed and successfully resolved after endoscopic decompression therapy. Eight months later, the patient developed a new episode of abdominal obstruction. Computed Tomography (CT) scan identified a distended sigmoid colon due to its torsion with gas areas within the bowel wall. This time, endoscopic decompression had failed to treat, so exploratory laparotomy was performed. Colonic distention and sigmoid volvulus were identified during the procedure, after which sigmoidectomy followed by primary anastomosis was performed. Neither perforation nor masses were found. Furthermore, the anatomopathological study was inconsistent with vascular, inflammatory, or neoplastic diseases.

Clinical and Sonographic Progression of Bowel Endometriosis: 3-Year Follow-up.

The aim of this study was to evaluate progression of the bowel endometriosis lesion over time. We performed a retrospective cohort with 164 patients with rectosigmoid endometriosis identified by transvaginal ultrasound (TVUS) with bowel preparation waiting for surgical treatment. Length and circumference of the bowel lesion evaluated by TVUS, painful symptoms (dysmenorrhea, dyspareunia, noncyclic pelvic pain, dyschezia, dysuria), and menopausal status were assessed at baseline and 6, 12, 24, 36, and > 36 months. A linear mixed model was used and p values < 0.05 were considered significant. We considered the length and the circumference as the main parameter; the characteristics were considered as fixed effects and the patient as random effect. This model allows to deal with missing data from longitudinal studies. All painful symptoms significantly improved during follow-up. Overall, the mean length and circumference of the greatest bowel lesion were 2.9 ± 1.8 cm and 27 ± 10%, respectively, and those did not change over time (p > 0.05). Patients with severe dyspareunia had significant greater circumference (p = 0.037) and those with severe dyschezia had significant greater length (p = 0.047) of bowel lesions. Symptoms were not related with progression of the lesion over time. The bowel lesion length significantly decreased over time in patients in menopause (p = 0.009). There was no difference in the bowel lesion length between patients with and without hormonal treatment (p > 0.05). The results suggest that bowel endometriosis does not increase over time during reproductive age and reduces after menopause. Symptoms are also not related to the bowel lesion progression.

[Colonic gallstone ileus: A rare cause of intestinal obstruction]. / Íleo biliar colónico: una rara causa de obstrucción intestinal.

BACKGROUND: A gallstone colonic ileus is a very rare condition. CLINICAL CASE: The case is reported of an 87 year-old patient who came to the Emergency Department due to an intestinal obstruction of several days onset, which was caused by a gallstone affected sigmoid colon. CONCLUSION: Colonic gallstone ileus is a rare disease that usually occurs in older patients due to the passage of large gallstone directly from the gallbladder to colon, through a cholecystocolonic fistula. It has a high morbidity and mortality.

Obstrucción colónica por cálculo / Colonic obstruction by gallstone

El íleo biliar es una rara complicación de la colelitiasis, que se caracteriza por presentar clínicamente una obstrucción intestinal mecánica intraluminal, secundaria a la impactación de un cálculo biliar en el tubo digestivo, debido a la existencia de una fístula bilio-entérica. El diagnóstico preoperatorio es difícil, ya que presenta síntomas y signos de obstrucción intestinal, los cuales son muy inespecíficos para sospechar un íleo biliar. El tratamiento de elección en el manejo del íleo biliar es el quirúrgico. Habitualmente se realiza una cirugía en dos tiempos, enterolitotomía como único gesto, sin embargo no hay una técnica quirúrgica definitiva estandarizada. Presentamos el caso de una paciente de 70 años que acude al Departamento de Urgencias con el diagnóstico clínico de obstrucción intestinal mecánica baja, de cuatro días de evolución, como consecuencia de un cálculo impactado en colon sigmoides.

Gallstone ileus is a rare complication of cholelithiasis, which is characterized by clinically presenting as an intraluminal mechanical intestinal obstruction secondary to the impaction of a gallstone in the digestive tract, due to the existence of a biliary-enteric fistula. The preoperative diagnosis is difficult, since it presents symptoms and signs of intestinal obstruction, which are very unspecific to suspect a Biliary Ileus. The treatment of choice in the management of gallstone ileus is surgery; usually is performed in two stages, whole lithotomy as the only gesture, however there is no standardized definitive surgical technique. We present the case of a 70-year-old patient, who attended the emergency department with the clinical diagnosis of low mechanical bowel obstruction, four days of evolution, as a result of a stone impacted in the sigmoid colon.

Cecum duplication in a 14-year-old female. Case report.

BACKGROUND: Duplications of the alimentary tract are a group of rare malformations occurring in about 1/5,000 live births. These may be either spherical or tubular and may communicate with the intestinal tract. Duplications of the cecum are very uncommon. CLINICAL CASE: A 14-year-old female was admitted to the emergency department with a 1-day history of abdominal pain, vomiting, constipation and abdominal distension. Abdominal examination revealed distension and tenderness around the umbilicus. Plain abdominal radiography showed dilated colon. The patient underwent surgical management with diagnosis of sigmoid volvulus. Laparotomy revealed spherical duplication from the cecum. Hemicolectomy was done and alimentary continuity was restored by end-to-end anastomosis. Pathological report was a spherical communicated duplication from the cecum (22 × 32 cm). CONCLUSIONS: Duplication of the cecum is extremely rare and is seen in 0.4% of duplications of the alimentary tract. The majority of cases (85%) are diagnosed before age 2 years. It is rare at 14 years of age. Diagnosis is difficult and volvulus, intussusception or appendicitis should be considered in the differential diagnosis. Ultrasonography and tomography are the imaging studies of choice. Plain abdominal x-ray is not specific. Resection of the duplication with restoration of alimentary continuity is the treatment of choice.

[Utility of diuretic renography in the detection of an enteroureteral fistula]. / Utilidad del renograma diurético en la detección de una fístula enteroureteral.

After a 2-year-old male with left impairment underwent surgery for a left vesicoureteral stenosis, his renal function was followed up by means of dynamic renal scintigraphy with 99mTc-DTPA. Incidental radiotracer accumulation was observed in left hemiabdomen tracing the descending and sigmoid colon. A vesico-colonic fistula was suspected. However, ultrasonography and cystography studies showed no presence of a vesico-enteric fistula. Because the patient persisted without symptoms, an expectant approach was adopted. One year later, he began to suffer watery diarrhoea episodes. 99mTc-DTPA renography was again performed to re-evaluated renal function and explore presence of urinary-enteric fistula. Diuretic renography demonstrated the presence of a vesical leak to sigmoid gut, which was confirmed by recovery of fecal matter from the patient. Both isotopic renograms evidenced the presence of uretero-sigmoid fistula, an uncommon postsurgical that was not detected by cystography, ultrasonography or RMN. The patient subsequently underwent surgery for fistula repair.

An unusual case of pneumoperitoneum: nephrocolic fistula due to a giant renal staghorn calculus.

Gastrointestinal perforations usually lead to pneumoperitoneum and peritonitis. Rarely, if ever described, a complete giant staghorn renal stone might cause a nephrocolic fistula with sigmoid impaction and perforation similar to gallstone ileus. Few nephrointestinal fistulae have been described in the literature and none of them were presented as an acute abdomen with pneumoperitoneum and pneumoretroperitoneum. To our knowledge, this is the only case showing CT and radiographic findings of a pathology not yet described in the literature. We named the sigmoid perforation by a renal stone ileus "Lorenzi's syndrome" after the physician who hypothesized this rare differential diagnosis based only on history and clinical examination.