AUTHORS
Joon Cho
ABSTRACT
Massive intestinal bleeding as a complication of typhoid fever has rarely been reported due to the advent of antibiotics. In addition, although several literatures have been issued on the use and success of endoscopic modalities in cases of massive typhoid ulcer bleeding, few have described hemostasis by endoscopic hemoclipping. We describe a case of a 61-year-old Korean female who presented acute episodes of massive lower gastrointestinal bleeding during admission to local hospital with a provisional diagnosis of acute gastroenteritis. She had returned from a trip to Southeast Asia 3 weeks prior to admission DIAGNOSES: After the result of blood culture was identified as Salmonella typhi, we could make a diagnosis of typhoid fever complicated by massive intestinal bleeding and acute pancreatitis based on elevated serum lipase and computerized tomography (CT) findings. The patient was treated successfully by two repeat colonoscopic hemostasis procedures involving the deployment of hemoclips on ulcers in the terminal ileum and 10-day course of intravenous ciprofloxacin OUTCOMES: The patient was stable and reported no further episodes of intestinal bleeding or fever during the follow-up time. In addition, acute pancreatitis, which is a rare complication of typhoid fever, resolved without complication on follow-up CT and a laboratory study. Considering the risk of procedure-related complications such as perforation of the small intestine wall, which become thin and friable due to ulceration, mechanical hemostasis methods, such as hemoclipping, might be safer than coagulation, when the bleeding spot can be identified and is not multiple, as in our case. In addition, our case demonstrates that S. typhi should be considered in the differential diagnosis of massive lower gastrointestinal hemorrhage, especially in the setting of recent travel in South or Southeast Asia.
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