Margarita Kitsanou

Spectrum and frequency of ophthalmologic manifestations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease: a prospective single-center study.

Background: The frequency and spectrum of ophthalmologic manifestations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has been reported to vary among studies; however, rare and silent manifestations have not been extensively studied. Methods: This was a prospective study of 60 patients diagnosed with IBD who underwent full ophthalmologic examination, including visual acuity, slit lamp examination of the anterior segments, intraocular pressure, and fundus examination accompanied by color photography. Thirty‐seven (61,7%) patients were diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 23 (38,3%) with Crohns disease (CD). Data from 276 control individuals were used for the determination of the prevalence of dry eye in our area. Results: Ophthalmologic manifestations were diagnosed in 26 (43%) patients (14 UC, 12 CD; 12 males and 14 females). Conjunctivitis was diagnosed in 1 patient (CD), episcleritis in 2 patients (UC), and iridocyclitis in 3 (CD). Fundus examination showed 1 patient (CD) with unilateral choroiditis, 1 (UC) with retinal vasculitis, and 1 (CD) with optic neuritis. Retinal pigment epithelium disturbances (RPED) were present in 3 patients (1 CD, 2 UC) and 2 had serous retinal detachment. In total, 13/60 patients (22%) had dry eye compared with the 11% prevalence in controls. Eight patients developed glucocorticosteroid‐induced cataracts, 2 of them treated surgically. Conclusions: This study demonstrated the prevalence of the spectrum of ophthalmologic manifestations in the IBD population, including some rare and silent findings that may merit consideration and early intervention.

Frequency of extraintestinal manifestations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in Northwest Greece and review of the literature.

BACKGROUND Inflammatory bowel disease mainly affects the bowel but also has extraintestinal manifestations. AIMS To report the frequency of extraintestinal manifestations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in Northwest Greece. PATIENTS; The data files of 256 inflammatory bowel disease patients (diagnosis between 1983-19971 were analysed. METHODS Retrospective investigation of patient files. RESULTS In patients with ulcerative colitis: 13.9% (30/215) had developed skin manifestations, 6% (13/215) had kidney stones, 1.39% (3/215) had iridocyclitis, 1.86% (4/215) had primary sclerosing cholangitis, 4.18% (9/215) had sacroiliitis, 8.31% (18/215) had peripheral arthalgias, 2.3% (5/215) had colitic arthritis and finally 1.39% (3/215) had deep vein thrombosis). In patients with Crohns disease: 24.3% (9/37) had developed skin manifestations, 5.4% (2/37) had kidney stones, 2.7% (1/37) had iridocyclitis, 16.2% (6/37) had sacroiliitis, 8.1% (3/37) had peripheral arthralgias, 5.4% (2/37) had colitic arthritis and, finally, 8.1% (3/37) had deep vein thrombosis. Sacroiliitis (p = 0.01), deep vein thrombosis (p = 0.04) and erythmema nodosum (p = 0.01) were more common in patients with Crohns disease. CONCLUSIONS Extraintestinal manifestations are not rare in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, especially in Crohns disease patients, in our area, but have, generally, a mild profile.

High CA 19-9 levels in benign biliary tract diseases: Report of four cases and review of the literature

For years, CA 19-9 has been proposed as a marker for epithelial-type gastrointestinal cancers, even though it is well known that its diagnostic specificity is low. Here we describe cases of extremely high CA 19-9 levels in benign biliary tract diseases. The first case involved a 77-year-old male patient with choledocholithiasis and jaundice who was found to have CA 19-9 levels of 98,628 UI/ml. The second case was a 63-year-old male patient with autoimmune cholangitis and a CA 19-9 level of 250 IU/ml. The third case was a 74-year-old male patient with cholelithiasis and choledocholithiasis who developed acute cholangitis. CA 19-9 levels were elevated to 14,950 UI/ml during the episode. The fourth case involved a 73-year-old man with biliary colic and jaundice following an acute open cholecystectomy procedure who had a transient 100-fold increase in CA 19-9 (2230 IU/ml).

Fulminant bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia following 2 d of treatment with hydroxyurea, interferon-α and oral cytarabine ocfosfate for chronic myelogenous leukemia

Abstract:  A 65‐yr‐old man developed increasing dyspnea and fulminant respiratory failure 48 h after introduction of hydroxyurea, oral cytarabine ocfosfate (YNK01) and interferon‐α for treatment of Philadelphia chromosome‐positive chronic myelogenous leukemia. The chest radiograph showed bilateral patchy infiltrates while computed tomography revealed multiple bullas, ground glass opacities, and patchy consolidations with possible cavitation. Bronchoscopic examination was normal and microbiological tests performed on all biologic fluids were negative. The patient did not respond to multiple antibiotic treatment and corticosteroid administration and died of progressive respiratory failure 5 d after chemotherapy introduction. The postmortem lung examination was consistent with the diagnosis of bronchiolitis obliterans organizing pneumonia (BOOP).

Extrarespiratory Chlamydia pneumoniae Infection Associated with Immune Disorder, Hepatitis and Renal Disease

Chlamydia pneumoniae infection was diagnosed in an elderly patient with prolonged fever and hepatomegaly and no evidence of respiratory tract infection. Laboratory investigation showed hepatitis, eosinophilia, cryoglobulinaemia and the presence of antinuclear antibodies. It was concluded that C. pneumoniae may cause an acute extrarespiratory infection as well as stimulate immunological reactions.

The true value of serum elastase-1 in endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP)

BACKGROUND: The routine use of serum elastase-1 in patients, pre- and post-endoscopic retrograde cholangiopancreatography (ERCP), has been strongly supported but not sufficiently correlated with diagnosis, patient outcome/prognosis, or routine markers such as serum amylase. The value of serum elastase-1 post-ERCP, as far as clinical diagnosis and prognosis is concerned, was tested and compared with serum amylase in terms of sensitivity, specificity, positive prognostic value (PPV), and negative prognostic value (NPV). METHODS: In a prospective study of 38 consecutive patients undergoing ERCP, we assessed the following biochemical parameters 24 h before ERCP and 2 and 18 h after ERCP: alanine aminotransferase (ALT), aspartate aminotransferase (AST), gamma-glutamyltransferase (gamma-GT), alkaline phosphatase (ALP), amylase (AMS), lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), and pancreatic elastase-1. RESULTS: Statistically significant changes were found between pre-ERCP and 18-h post-ERCP in elastase-1 (P=0.009), amylase (P=0.016), gamma-GT (P=0.04), and ALP (P=0.04). Changes between 2-h and 18-h post-ERCP in all parameters tested were not statistically significant. No statistical significance was found between any biochemical parameter and specific ERCP diagnosis. CONCLUSIONS: This study showed that 2-h post-ERCP serum elastase-1 was 100% specific for post-ERCP pancreatitis or other underlying severe pathology while, at the same time, amylase was only 50% specific. The specificity of serum elastase-1 still remained high (87.5%) 18-h post-ERCP, while amylase only had a specificity of 25% at that time. In contrast, amylase had a sensitivity of 83.3 and 90% in the 2-h and 18-h post-ERCP serum samples, while elastase-1 only had a sensitivity of 56.7 and 73.3%, respectively.