1/5. Nongranulomatous chronic idiopathic enterocolitis: a primary histologically defined disease.Nongranulomatous chronic idiopathic enterocolitis is characterized by sudden onset of severe watery diarrhea, malabsorption, exudative enteropathy, frequent appearance of shallow ulcerations, and variable degrees of villus atrophy. In the absence of infectious and pharmacologic causes, the presence of a predominantly acute inflammatory infiltrate limited to the lamina propria establishes the diagnosis. No underlying disease appears during prolonged follow-up. The etiology remains unknown. The disease is generally corticosteroid-responsive; low-dose maintenance therapy is frequently required. The long-term prognosis is guarded. Three of 11 patients died of opportunistic infections or resistance to therapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = opportunistic infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
2/5. mucormycosis of the neonatal gut: a "new" disease or a variant of necrotizing enterocolitis?mucormycosis is an opportunistic infection that has been mainly described in adults with preexisting disease affecting immune status, eg, diabetes, leukemia, lymphoma, and renal failure on peritoneal dialysis. Few cases have been described in neonates. The presentation of mucormycosis as a cause of neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis is an unusual phenomenon. Three fatal cases of mucormycosis of the gut in premature infants in the period 1990 to 1991 are described. It is not clear whether this should be considered a separate disease or a variant of necrotizing enterocolitis. All three patients died soon after laparotomy from septic shock and the histological diagnosis of mucormycosis was made too late for effective chemotherapy.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = opportunistic infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
3/5. Severe cytomegalovirus enterocolitis in an immunocompetent infant.Gastrointestinal cytomegalovirus infection is a common opportunistic infection in immunocompromised patients. It is a rare cause of enterocolitis in immunocompetent hosts. We present a case of severe cytomegalovirus enterocolitis causing intractable diarrhea in a previously healthy infant. The child was successfully treated with intravenous ganciclovir.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = opportunistic infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
4/5. cryptosporidium enterocolitis in homosexual men with AIDS.Two homosexual Danish men with the acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS) contracted cryptosporidium enterocolitis. One patient died in another opportunistic infection, the other developed severe chronic enterocolitis with malabsorption. The cryptosporidia escape detection on routine stool examination, but are easily demonstrated by a modified Ziehl-Neelsen stain. It is suggested that this procedure should be applied when persons from AIDS high risk groups or patients with other forms of immunological incompetence develop prolonged diarrhoea.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = opportunistic infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |
5/5. Prominent small bowel Ga-67 uptake associated with Yersinial and tuberculous enterocolitis.The nuclear medicine evaluation of the immunocompromised patient with fever of unknown origin may include the use of either labeled leukocytes or Ga-67 citrate, or both, in the search for an infectious focus. In recent years, labeled leukocytes (In-111 or Tc-99m) seem to have been employed preferentially by some. This is especially the case when the abdomen is a suspected site of involvement because of the normal colonic excretion of gallium that may complicate the interpretation of this study. The authors present the case of an immunocompromised patient with the interesting scintigraphic pattern of diffuse large and small bowel uptake of gallium secondary to biopsy proven yersinia and tuberculous enterocolitis. A review of the recent literature reveals only one other similar case in which Yersinial disease was detected by Ga-67 scintigraphy. The present case illustrates that gallium's avidity for the atypical, less pyogenic, opportunistic infections common in immunocompromised patients justifies its continued use in such settings and, specifically, whenever tuberculosis is suspected.- - - - - - - - - - ranking = 1keywords = opportunistic infection (Clic here for more details about this article) |