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Query: UMLS:C0000737 (abdominal pain)
 31,184 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

Four cases of hepatic angiosarcoma are reported with a review of 99 other cases in the English literature. Angiosarcoma of the liver is associated with chronic exposure to thorotrast, vinyl chloride, arsenicals, radium and possibly copper and with chronic idiopathic hemochromatosis. Although 40% of patients have hepatic fibrosis or cirrhosis at autopsy, the nature of the association between chronic liver disease and hepatic angiosarcoma is unknown. The clinical presentation of hepatic angiosarcoma is nonspecific with abdominal pain, weakness and weight loss common complaints and with hepatomegaly, ascites and jaundice common findings. Liver function tests are usually abnormal but there is no one liver function test or set of tests specific for the tumor. The occurrence of thrombocytopenia and disseminated intravascular coagulation is characteristic of hepatic angiosarcoma and may be related to local consumption of clotting factors and formed blood elements in the tumor. Catastrophic intraabdominal bleeding is also characteristic and occurs in one-fourth of all cases. This complication is likely related to the high incidence of clotting abnormalities and the vascular nature of the neoplasm. Selective hepatic arteriogram and open liver biopsy are the foundations of diagnostic evaluation. Percutaneous liver biopsy should be avoided. Failure to appreciate the possibility of hepatic angiosarcoma in the proper clinical setting, leading to blind percutaneous biopsy, may result in failure to make the diagnosis at the cost of significant morbidity and mortality. Survival of patients with hepatic angiosarcoma is brief; only 3% live longer than 2 years. Treatment of the tumor to date is empirical. There are probably a few patients who might benefit from radical surgery with curative intent. For all others chemotherapy is indicated. Adriamycin is active against hepatic angiosarcoma, but optimal dose and mode of administration require further investigation. Further study is also required to delineate the cause of hepatic angiosarcoma in the 60% of cases without definite epidemiologic association.
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PMID:The clinical features of hepatic angiosarcoma: a report of four cases and a review of the English literature. 36 8

A 56-year-old man, who had previously been treated for arthritis of the hands, was admitted to the hospital because of abdominal pain and fever. Physical examination, laboratory tests and liver biopsy led to the diagnosis of hemochromatosis. The patient's brother, who had also been treated for arthritis, was then found to have hemochromatosis. The patient's five children appeared to be well, but serum iron studies and HLA typing showed that four were affected with hemochromatosis.
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PMID:Hemochromatosis in a family. 350

Metabolic disorders which may mimicry a surgical abdomen are ketoacidosis, acute intermittent porphyria, hyperparathyroid crises, Addisons crises, hyperchylomicronemia, hemolytic crises, abdominal crises in hemochromatosis. Abdominal pain of non-surgical and non-inflammatory origin may be also found in abdominal allergic crises, intestinal wall bleeding due to anticoagulants, thrombocytopenia or acute poisoning. The symptoms may be very similar to those in surgical peritonitis. A careful work-up leads to the right diagnosis.
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PMID:[Abdominal pain in metabolic diseases]. 380 85

The spleen was assessed in 10 patients with sickle cell disease studied with computed tomography (CT) for abdominal pain and/or unexplained fever. Patients with homozygous sickle cell anemia were found to have small, densely calcified spleens with occasional low-density infarcts. Five of six had hepatomegaly, and there was one case each of hepatic abscess, infarcts, and hemochromatosis. All patients with heterozygous sickle cell disease were found to have splenomegaly, with a variety of findings including acute hemorrhage, acute and chronic infarcts, rupture, and possible sequestration. It was concluded that CT is useful for evaluating the status of the spleen and liver in symptomatic patients with sickle cell disease.
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PMID:Computed tomography of the spleen and liver in sickle cell disease. 661 Oct 49

The patient was a 59-year-old man who had been in hospital suffering from aplastic anemia with transfusion hemosiderosis. Sudden onset of weakness, shaking chills and headache was observed after his staying out overnight on July 25, 1981. His temperature was 39.3 degrees C and he complained of abdominal pain and abdominal distension. His blood pressure dropped to a dangerous level and tonic convulsions that had begun in the upper body gradually extended to the whole body and he died 23 hours after his return. V. vulnificus was isolated by the blood culture performed before death. During his stay away from the hospital, he had eaten raw cuttlefish, which was considered to be the source of infection. V. vulnificus is one of the halophilic marine vibrios and is isolated frequently in summertime from the sea foods and sea water near Japan. It has been disclosed that the presence of underlying diseases such as liver cirrhosis, hemochromatosis can predispose a person to fatal sepsis by V. vulnificus. In this case, besides leukocytopenia, the presence of hemosiderosis induced by many transfusions was considered to be a major cause leading to the fulminating course of the disease.
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PMID:[Fatal Vibrio vulnificus infection in a patient with aplastic anemia]. 667 24

Dr. Wagner's description of an advanced macronodular cirrhosis is compatible with end-stage liver disease due to a variety of causes. An alcoholic etiology seems more probable than chronic viral hepatitis since such a diagnosis might also account for the chronic pancreatitis, unless it was related to the cholelithiasis. However, Dr. Wagner's description favors a diagnosis of biliary pigment sludge related to hemolysis. Furthermore, the controversy over the extent of Beethoven's alcohol consumption and the absence of mention of pancreatic calcification weakens the case for an alcoholic etiology. On the other hand, Dr. Wagner's emphasis of bluish-green pigmentation of the liver, blackish pigmentation of the spleen, and an arteropathy of the hepatic vessels suggests the probability of hemochromatosis, which diagnosis is also in keeping with Beethoven's medical history. In this regard the composer's history of recurrent obscure abdominal pain, commencing in his third decade, is especially in keeping with hemochromatosis. As many as a third of patients present with recurrent abdominal pain, and eventually up to 40% of cases develop significant abdominal pain in the course of their disease. While some of these cases of abdominal pain have been attributed to hepatoma, ascites, pancreatitis, perisplenitis, or diabetic neuropathy, the majority remain ill-defined (32). Even so, the diagnosis of hemochromatosis remains unproved in the absence of a histological examination and measurement of hepatic iron concentration. It is proposed that the combined additive, toxic effects of alcohol and iron were the most likely cause of Beethoven's cirrhosis.
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PMID:Was Beethoven's cirrhosis due to hemochromatosis? 777 Jun 48

A male patient with severe aplastic anemia was admitted for bone marrow transplantation. While waiting for a donor, high doses of methylprednisolone, anabolic steroid and granulocyte colony stimulating factor were given without response. Deferoxamine was administered for prophylaxis of hemochromatosis because of high level of ferritin. Acute right lower abdominal pain and pyrexia developed. A diagnosis of acute appendicitis was made and appendectomy was performed. The histopathological examination of the resected appendix revealed necrotizing hemorrhagic appendicitis with numerous hyphae of Mucorales. Though anti-fungal agent (amphotericin B) administration was continued, he subsequently developed ileo-cecal abscess and eventually died due to myoglobinuric nephropathy caused by extensive necrosis of the iliopsoas muscle. Autopsy revealed dissemination of hyphae of Mucorales in lungs, kidneys, large vessels and muscle of the bilateral lower limbs. Systemic vascular invasion and embolization of fungal hyphae were also observed. However, culture of exudate sampled from ileocecum yielded no Mucorales. It was emphasized that antemortem diagnosis and effective anti-fungal treatments are essential for the management of intestinal mucormycosis. The relation ship between mucormyocosis and deferoxamine was also discussed.
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PMID:[Acute appendicitis caused by mucorales in a patient with severe aplastic anemia: report of an autopsy case]. 885 34

Yersinia enterocolitica is a gram-negative bacillus that thrives in conditions associated with iron overload. We describe an unusual case of a diabetic patient with a previously unrecognized hemochromatosis presenting with Y. enterocolitica septicemia. He was admitted because of a 10 day history of abdominal pain, fever and jaundice. Blood cultures grew Y. enterocolitica. The abdomen CT scan showed multiple liver and splenic abscesses. Antibiotic treatment with ciprofloxacin (2 months) resulted in a good clinical response. Serum iron studies showed iron overload. Liver biopsy revealed moderate fibrosis and early cirrhosis with large amounts of hemosiderin granules deposited in hepatocytes and bile duct epithelium. This report reviews the literature and highlights that iron overload must be ruled out in Yersinia septicemia patients.
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PMID:[Multiple hepatosplenic abscesses caused by Yersinia enterocolitica in a patient with hemochromatosis]. 956 96

A 60-year-old man, although treated with antibiotics, suffered from a severe pyrexial illness of unknown origin, weight loss and intermittent abdominal pain. There was no history of diarrhea or common infections. Computed tomography and ultrasound imaging showed uncharacteristic multiple small lesions of the entire liver parenchyma. These lesions were histologically pyogenic abscesses. In addition, an unexpected, pronounced accumulation of iron pigment in hepatocytes and second degree fibrotic changes of the liver were detected. Serum iron and serum transferrin were low, but serum ferritin concentration and transferrin saturation were increased to the maximum. The demonstration of the cysteine-282-tyrosine mutation confirmed underlying primary hemochromatosis. Bacteriological cultures of the abscess material yielded Yersinia enterocolitica serotype O:3, while stool and blood cultures were negative. Antibiotic therapy with piperacillin/tazobactam and tobramycin was successful within a few days. A repeat CT scan and ultrasound imaging demonstrated complete regression of the pathologic liver morphology. The patient was discharged and treated with an orally administered fluoroquinolone for an additional 6 months. After this time the patient had no morphological residues of the infection except one enlarged lymph node near the portal vein but still was so weak that he was unable to work again. In conclusion, severe septic forms of yersiniosis are mainly found in patients with iron overload, due to a handicapped iron metabolism of the Yersinia bacteria. Mortality is high despite treatment.
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PMID:Yersinia enterocolitica infection with multiple liver abscesses uncovering a primary hemochromatosis. 1125 17

Gastrointestinal complications of diabetes include gastroparesis, intestinal enteropathy (which can cause diarrhea, constipation, and fecal incontinence), and nonalcoholic fatty liver disease. Patients with gastroparesis may present with early satiety, nausea, vomiting, bloating, postprandial fullness, or upper abdominal pain. The diagnosis of diabetic gastroparesis is made when other causes are excluded and postprandial gastric stasis is confirmed by gastric emptying scintigraphy. Whenever possible, patients should discontinue medications that exacerbate gastric dysmotility; control blood glucose levels; increase the liquid content of their diet; eat smaller meals more often; discontinue the use of tobacco products; and reduce the intake of insoluble dietary fiber, foods high in fat, and alcohol. Prokinetic agents (e.g., metoclopramide, erythromycin) may be helpful in controlling symptoms of gastroparesis. Treatment of diabetes-related constipation and diarrhea is aimed at supportive measures and symptom control. Nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is common in persons who are obese and who have diabetes. In persons with diabetes who have elevated hepatic transaminase levels, it is important to search for other causes of liver disease, including hepatitis and hemochromatosis. Gradual weight loss, control of blood glucose levels, and use of medications (e.g., pioglitazone, metformin) may normalize hepatic transaminase levels, but the clinical benefit of aggressively treating nonalcoholic fatty liver disease is unknown. Controlling blood glucose levels is important for managing most gastrointestinal complications.
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PMID:Gastrointestinal complications of diabetes. 1861 80


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