Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis complicating extensive splanchnic vein thrombosis, a rare manifestation of essential thrombocythemia: A case report.

Key Clinical Message: Clinicians should be mindful of the rare occurrence of spontaneous bacterial peritonitis in essential thrombocythemia with extensive splanchnic vein thrombosis, especially when patients with ascites exhibit fever and abdominal pain. Abstract: Spontaneous bacterial peritonitis (SBP) complicating extensive splanchnic vein thrombosis (SVT) is a rare manifestation of essential thrombocythemia (ET). In the absence of any hypercoagulable state, JAK2 mutation can be an important risk factor for extensive SVT. Evaluation for SBP is crucial when non-cirrhotic patient exhibits fever, abdominal pain and tenderness in the background of ascites after ruling out common pathologies such as tubercular peritonitis, acute pancreatitis, Budd-Chiari syndrome and ovarian malignancy. We present a case of SBP complicating pre-hepatic portal hypertension with ascites in a 44-years-old female. On further evaluation, extensive SVT with portal cavernoma in the setting of ET was identified. She was managed with cytoreductive therapy and anticoagulation, resulting in symptom resolution.

Liver Cirrhosis among Young Adults Admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology in a Tertiary Care Centre: A Descriptive Cross-sectional Study.

Introduction: Cirrhosis in young adults is an important health problem worldwide and is a common disease. Patients usually present late in a decompensated state with varied complications. However, national data on the exact burden of the disease is lacking. The aim of this study was to find out the prevalence of liver cirrhosis among young adults admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology in a tertiary care centre. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study was done among patients admitted to the Department of Gastroenterology in a tertiary care centre between 25 November 2021 to 30 November 2022 after receiving ethical approval from the Institutional Review Committee [Reference number: 227(6-11)E2-078/079]. Convenience sampling was done. Point estimate and 95% Confidence Interval were calculated. Results: Among 989 patients, liver cirrhosis in young adults was seen in 200 (20.22%) (18.12-22.32, 95% Confidence Interval). Chronic alcohol use was the primary cause of cirrhosis seen in 164 (82%) cases. The most typical presenting symptom was abdominal distension seen in 187 (93.50%) patients. The most frequent complication was ascites seen in 184 (92%) patients. The most frequent endoscopic finding was gastro-oesophagal varices seen in 180 (90%) patients. There were 145 (72.50%) men and 55 (27.50%) women. Conclusions: The prevalence of liver cirrhosis in young adults was found to be lower than the other studies done in similar settings. Keywords: ascites; liver cirrhosis; prevalence.

Detection of Colonic Polyps During Colonoscopy in a Tertiary Care Center of Nepal.

BACKGROUND: Colorectal cancer is the third leading cause of cancer death in the world. Most colon cancer develop from the polyps. Data on the prevalence of colorectal polyps in Nepal is lacking. The objective was to determine the prevalence of colorectal polyps, site of occurrence and adenomas among various age groups. All polyps after removal by polypectomy was sent for histopathological examination. METHODS: Study was done in 1027 consecutive patients who underwent colonoscopy in the pre-specified time after excluding patients with colorectal cancer, Inflammatory Bowel Disease and polyposis syndromes. RESULTS: Among 1027 patients, the mean age was 45 years. 292 (28.43%) were below 40 years, whereas, 735 (71.57%) were above 40 years. Polyps were detected in 12.95% of overall patients and in 9.73% of patients over age 40. The most common location of polyps was rectum (46.62%). 43.61% were adenomatous polyps, 11.28% were hyperplastic polyps, 18.05% were juvenile polyps, 22.56% were inflammatory polyps and 1.50% were malignant adenocarcinoma. Polyp detection rate was 12.95%, whereas adenoma detection rate was 5.84%. 46.55% had advanced adenomas. A positive correlation between the size of polyp and adenomatous variety was found [Chi-square value ?2 = 8.42 (>3.841), p value <0.05]. Prevalence of adenomatous polyps was significantly higher above the age of 40 [Chi-square value ?2 = 11.53 (>3.841), p value<0.05].  Conclusions: The prevalence of polyp increases with age. With increasing age and size of polyp, the prevalence of adenomatous polyp increases significantly. One out of every eight people over 40 years had a colonic polyp.

Human echinostomiasis: a case report.

BACKGROUND: Echinostomiasis is a food-borne infection caused by an intestinal trematodes belonging to the family Echinostomatidae. They infect the gastrointestinal tract of humans. Patients are usually asymptomatic. However, with heavy infections, the worms can produce catarrhal inflammation with mild ulceration and the patient may experience abdominal pain, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and weight loss. Infection are associated with common sociocultural practices of eating raw or insufficiently cooked mollusks and fish. CASE PRESENTATION: We report a first case of echinostomiasis from Nepal in a 62 years old, hindu male who presented to Tribhuvan University Teaching Hospital, Kathmandu with a complaint of abdominal pain and distension with vomiting on and off for 3-4 months. He had history of consumption of insufficiently cooked fish and snail with alcohol. During endoscopy, an adult flat worm was seen with mild portal hypertensive gastropathy (McCormack's classification) and erosive duodenopathy. The adult worm was identified as Echinostoma species based on its morphology and characteristic ova found on stool routine microscopic examination of the patient. Patient was treated with praziquantel 40 mg/kg (single dose) which is the drug of choice for Echinostoma species infection by which he got improved and on follow up stool examination after 2 weeks revealed no ova of Echinostoma species. CONCLUSIONS: The patients having history of consumption of insufficiently cooked snail and fish with suggestive clinical features of echinostomiasis should be suspected by physicians and ova of Echinostoma species should be searched by trained microscopists. An epidemiological survey is required to know the exact burden of Echinostoma species infection in the place where people have habit of eating insufficiently cooked fish and snails, as it can be endemic in that community or geographical area.

Dengue and Scrub Typhus Coinfection in a Patient Presenting with Febrile Illness.

Dengue fever and scrub typhus are common causes of acute febrile illness of unclear origin in Asia. Though coinfections of many vector-borne diseases have been described, articles on dengue and scrub typhus coinfection are distinctly limited. In case of coinfection with dengue and scrub typhus, vigilant monitoring of vitals, platelets transfusion, and timely treatment with doxycycline are necessary. High degree of suspicion has to be made for coinfection in a patient presenting with febrile illness with thrombocytopenia and deranged laboratory parameters in postmonsoon season in endemic regions in Asia.