Acute Fulminant Necrotizing Amoebic Colitis: A potentially fatal cause of diarrhoea on the Acute Medical Unit

Acute Fulminant Necrotizing Amoebic Colitis: A potentially fatal cause of diarrhoea on the Acute Medical Unit

Abstract

Diarrhoea is a common presenting complaint to the Acute Medical Unit. We report a case of acute fulminant necrotizing amebic colitis in a 73 year old man with no recent travel history preceding his admission. Such cases are often difficult to diagnose and hence associated with a high mortality, unless treated promptly and appropriately. This case report highlights the importance of early diagnosis and prompt initiation of treatment.

[download-attachments container="div" style="list" display_icon="1" display_count="1" display__size="0"]

References

  1. Source: Health Protection Agency http://www.hpa.org.uk/Topics/InfectiousDiseases/InfectionsAZ/ Entamoeba Histolytica/GeneralInformation/(accessed May 2010)
  2. Morton TC, Neal RA, Sage M. Indigenous amoebiasis in Britain. Lancet. 1951; 1(6658): 766-769.
  3. Morton TC, Stamm WP, Seidelin R. Indigenous Amoebiasis: A Recent Outbreak in England. Br Med J. 1952; 2(4776): 114-116.
  4. Stanley SL. Amoebiasis. Lancet. 2003; 361: 1025-1034.
  5. Petri WA, Singh U; Diagnosis and management of amebiasis. Clinical Inf Dis 1999; 29: 1117-25.
  6. Braga L, Gomes ML, Da Silva MW, et al. Household epidemiology of Entamoeba histolytica infection in an urban community in Northeastern Brazil. Am J Trop Med Hyg 2001; 65: 268-271.
  7. Singh B, Moodley J, Ramdial PK; Fuliminant amebic colitis: a favourable outcome. Int Surg 2001; 86: 77-81.
  8. Shimada S, Mizumoto T, Nishioka R, et al; Acute fulminant necrotizing colitis caused by amoebiasis: Report of a case. Surg Today 2002; 32: 738-41.
  9. Roy Choudhury S, A. Sen AK; Necrotizing amebic colitis in a child. Pediatr Surg Int 2002; 18: 498-55.
  10. Chuah SK, Sheen IS, Changchien CS, et al; Risk factors associated with fulminant amebic colitis. J Formos Med Assoc 1996; 95(6): 446–451.
  11. Elhence IP, Agrawal BM, Sharma BD. Amebic necrosis of bowel. Int Surg 1979; 64(1): 57–61.
  12. Aristizabal H, Acevedo J, Botero M. Fulminant amebic colitis. World J Surg 1991; 15(2): 216–221.
  13. Takahashi T, Gamboa-Dominguez A, Gomez-Mendez TJ et al. Fulminant amebic colitis: Analysis of 55 cases. Dis Colon Rectum 1997; 40(11): 1362–1367.
  14. Stanley SL Jr. Amoebiasis. Lancet. 2003; 361: 1025–1034.
  15. Stuiver PC, Goud TJ. Corticosteroids and liver amoebiasis. Br Med J. 1978; 2: 394–395.
  16. Juniper K. Amoebiasis. Clin Gastroenterol. 1978; 7: 3–29.
  17. Pillai DR, Keystone JS, Sheppard DC et al. Entamoeba histolytica and Entamoeba dispar: epidemiology and comparison of diagnostic methods in a setting of nonendemicity. Clin Infect Dis. 1999; 29(5): 1315-8.
  18. Haque R, Kress K, Wood S et al. Diagnosis of pathogenic Entamoeba histolytica infection using a stool ELISA based on monoclonal antibodies to the galactose-specific adhesion. J Inf Dis. 1993; 167(1): 247.
  19. Pittman FE, El-Hashimi WK, Pittman JC. Studies of human amebiasis. II. Light and electron microscopic observations of colonic mucosa and exudate in acute amebic colitis. Gastroenterology 1973; 65(4): 588–603.

Request Permissions

To request copyright permission to republish or share portions of our works, please visit Copyright Clearance Center’s (CCC) Marketplace website by clicking the button below:

Get Permission

Acute Fulminant Necrotizing Amoebic Colitis: A potentially fatal cause of diarrhoea on the Acute Medical Unit

10th March 2016
PMID: 21904710
Authors Affiliations
Purav Desai BSc(Hons), MbChB, MRCP ST4 Acute Medicine, St James’s University Hospital
Nurani Sivaramakrishnan MBBS, MD, FRCP Consultant Gastroenterologist, Dewsbury and District Hospita

Acute Fulminant Necrotizing Amoebic Colitis: A potentially fatal cause of diarrhoea on the Acute Medical Unit

Cite this article as:


Acute Fulminant Necrotizing Amoebic Colitis: A potentially fatal cause of diarrhoea on the Acute Medical Unit

Share this article

Click the icon of the social media platform on which you would like to share this article.


Shopping Basket
Scroll to Top