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Query: UMLS:C0000727 (acute abdomen)
 3,084 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Clindamycin (7-chloro-7-deoxylincomycin) may induce mild or severe colitis. In 28 months, clindamycin-associated diarrhea was encountered in 8 patients who had received oral therapy. Severe, acute colitis was seen in 4 older patients, 3 of whom had acute pseudomembranous colitis and one who had an adynamic ileus mimicking an acute abdomen. Mild colitis with protracted diarrhea occurred in 4 younger patients who had mild, nonspecific inflammation in the rectum which responded to symptomatic treatment. The mechanism and true incidence of diarrhea as a sequel of clindamycin therapy are unknown. In all 8 patients, the use of clindamycin was arbitrary. Because of potentially serious gastrointestinal disturbance, including acute pseudomembranous colitis, clindamycin should be reserved for anaerobic and other serious infections.
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PMID:Colitis associated with clindamycin therapy. 120 37

Plain-film abdominal changes in 5 patients with severe antibiotic-related pseudomembranous colitis were found to be strikingly similar and distinct from those seen in other colitides. These consisted of moderate gaseous distension of the colon and unusual wide transverse bands of thickened bowel wall associated with giant "thumbprinting" which was universal in distribution, with minimal or absent small-bowel abnormalities. While the radiographic findings were not pathognomonic, they were highly suggestive of advanced pseudomembranous colitis when combined with the clinical data. Prompt recognition of this entity by the radiologist is extremely helpful in management, since such patients frequently present with physical findings of an acute abdomen requiring surgery.
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PMID:Plain-film findings in severe pseudomembranous colitis. 124 77

Clostridium difficile-associated pseudomembranous colitis is an increasingly common nosocomial infection that usually responds to oral antibiotics. Presentation as an acute abdomen occurred in 12 patients, leading to 14 laparotomies. A distinctive clinical picture was observed: advanced age, recent treatment with antibiotics, fever, abdominal pain, tenderness, marked leukocytosis, and ileus. Only six of the 12 patients had diarrhea. Five were immunosuppressed. Abdominal computed tomographic scans revealed ascites and a massively thickened colonic wall. All four patients treated by subtotal colectomy survived. Four of 10 patients treated only with laparotomy or segmental colectomy died, four responded to medical therapy, and the conditions of two deteriorated but were salvaged by subtotal colectomy. Early diagnosis via endoscopy or computed tomography should obviate the need for exploratory operations. However, progressive toxic effects indicate failure of medical therapy and the need for subtotal colectomy.
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PMID:Laparotomy for fulminant pseudomembranous colitis. 152 85

Acute abdomen was the presenting manifestation of pseudomembranous colitis in six men who had previously been treated with antibiotics and presented with abdominal distention, pain, fever, and leukocytosis with absent or mild diarrhea. Plain abdominal radiographs revealed megacolon in two, combined small and large bowel dilation in three, with one of them showing volvuluslike pattern, and isolated small bowel ileus in one. Emergency colonoscopy was performed successfully in all patients and revealed pseudomembranes in five and nonspecific colitis in one. All patients had positive latex test results for Clostridium difficile, and two tested positive for cytotoxicity. All patients were treated with IV metronidazole, resulting in resolution of symptoms and abdominal findings. In addition, two patients underwent colonoscopic decompression with improvement. Endoscopically, complete resolution of the pseudomembranes occurred at 4 weeks in all cases. No patient had a recurrence. It is concluded that (a) pseudomembranous colitis may present as abdominal distention mimicking small bowel ileus. Ogilvie's syndrome, volvulus, or ischemia; (b) in such cases, emergency colonoscopy is safe and useful for diagnosis and therapeutic decompression and may obviate the need for surgery; and (c) treatment with IV metronidazole is effective. Colitis due to C. difficile should be considered in the differential diagnosis of acute abdomen in patients previously treated with antibiotics.
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PMID:Acute abdomen as the first presentation of pseudomembranous colitis. 161 51

Cases of neutropenic enterocolitis associated with Clostridium septicum infection have been reported with increasing frequency in the past decade. We report two such cases involving unusual hosts and briefly discuss possible pathogenetic mechanisms such as ischemia, mucosal damage related to chemotherapy and neutropenia, and immunosuppression. One case involved a young man with chronic Epstein-Barr infection who developed extensive gas gangrene of the right side of his trunk and thigh and who died within 12 hours of presentation to the emergency department. Diagnosis was only made at postmortem examination. The second, middle-aged patient was admitted with an acute abdomen shortly after he completed chemotherapy for pleural mesothelioma. A right hemicolectomy was performed, but the patient developed antibiotic-associated pseudomembranous colitis and died. These cases indicate that neutropenic enterocolitis may arise in a variety of underlying conditions and that prompt diagnosis and therapy will be required to salvage more patients with this disorder.
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PMID:Neutropenic enterocolitis. Two unusual cases with review of the literature. 848 43

Clostridium difficile causes a broad spectrum of enteric diseases in humans, ranging from mild antibiotic-associated diarrhoea to more severe pseudomembranous colitis. The authors report four cases of life-threatening pseudomembranous colitis with haemodynamic changes. Infection due to Clostridium difficile should be kept in mind whenever a patient undergoing antibiotic therapy develops a symptomatology of an acute abdomen.
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PMID:[Severe forms of pseudomembranous colitis caused by Clostridium difficile]. 857 94

CT has become the primary imaging modality for the evaluation of the patient with clinical symptoms of an acute abdomen and a confusing clinical picture. Because these patients may have a range of various pathologies, CT has been used successfully to define the presence of disease and localize it to a specific organ or organ system. In this article, we review the various processes that resulted in acute abdomen focusing on the small bowel and colon. Specific entities discussed include appendicitis, diverticulitis, Crohn disease, and ulcerative colitis. Other less common processes, including pseudomembranous colitis, intussusception, and bowel ischemia are also discussed. The specific role of CT scanning and specific CT signs are discussed and addressed. The value of CT in relationship to other modalities and clinical evaluation is discussed and key statistics provided.
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PMID:CT evaluation of the acute abdomen: bowel pathology spectrum of disease. 887 9

Pseudomembranous colitis associated with Clostridium difficile rarely manifests as an acute abdomen and even more rarely as an acute abdomen without abnormal radiologic studies. The following is a case report of a 52-year-old white man who had an acute abdomen without abnormal radiologic studies, and was given a final diagnosis of C difficile colitis. Surgery was averted only by the ability to do an expeditious flexible sigmoidoscopy with the visualization of pseudomembranes. Diagnosis was later confirmed by a positive toxin assay and culture of C difficile. Treatment for C difficile colitis is usually medical, with oral vancomycin the preferred agent. Surgery may be needed when there is an acute abdomen with other systemic signs (fever or leukocytosis) or abnormal radiologic studies.
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PMID:Clostridium difficile colitis presenting as an acute abdomen: case report and review of the literature. 901 Mar 77

Pseudomembranous colitis is an uncommon pathology although the number of cases recorded has risen steadily over the past decades. It is closely correlated with antibiotic treatment and above all affects immunodepressed subjects. It is manifested by a wide variety of clinical symptoms, ranging from simple diarrhea to acute abdomen. The latter, although fortunately extremely rare, often requires surgical therapy.
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PMID:[Surgical treatment of pseudomembranous colitis. Considerations on a clinical case]. 908 17

A staging classification is proposed by CT findings in 27 patients with acute abdomen, caused by inflammatory colonic non-parasitic pathology. Of the 17 patients with diverticular disease, 4 were stage A (edema/ischemia on thickness of the abdominal wall), 2 were stage B (partial intramural infarction on the abdominal wall) and 3 were stage C (abscess/peritonitis and obstruction/vascular strangulation). None of the patients in the series were stage D (ischemia/infarction of the colonic wall with dilatation). Of the 4 patients with ulcerative colitis, 3 were stage A and 1 in stage C. Of the 3 patients with Crohn's disease, 2 were stage A and 1 was in stage C. Classified as stage D were 1 pseudomembranous colitis, 1 volvulus and 1 idiopathic megacolon. Clinical severity was in parallel with CT stages that gave better information on the progression of the pathology. Staging by CT in acute abdomen caused by inflammatory colonic non-parasitic pathology could be useful in therapeutics.
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PMID:Acute abdomen caused by inflammatory colonic non-parasitic pathology: staging by CT. 1042 Oct 16


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