Acalculous cholecystitis in a patient with Churg-Strauss syndrome / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Churg-Strauss syndrome is an uncommon disorder characterized by asthma, hypereosinophilia, and systemic vasculitis. Gastrointestinal involvement is commonly encountered in Churg-Strauss syndrome; however, acute cholecystitis is rare, and few cases have been documented in the literature. A 22-year-old female with a history of asthma was admitted with a complaint of steady pain in the right upper abdominal quadrant. Laboratory test results showed leukocytosis with hypereosinophilia. Abdominal ultrasonography and computed tomography revealed acute cholecystitis. Her symptoms did not improve with conservative treatment, so she underwent percutaneous transhepatic gallbladder drainage. Subsequently, peripheral neuropathy, erythematous papules on the skin, and dyspnea developed. A chest computed tomography scan showed bilateral pulmonary infiltrates. A pathological examination of the skin lesion indicated necrotizing vasculitis with eosinophilic infiltrates. She was diagnosed with Churg-Strauss syndrome. She was treated with corticosteroids, and her condition improved dramatically. After the drainage catheter was removed, complications including a bile leak occurred. Consequently, a cholecystectomy was performed.