Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome and gastrointestinal haemorrhage: which treatment?

PURPOSE: To describe a paediatric case of "Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome" (BRBNS) or Bean's syndrome, a rare systemic disorder characterised by cutaneous and gastrointestinal vascular malformations that often lead to overt life-threatening gastrointestinal bleeding or occult blood loss with severe anaemia and iron deficiency. CASE REPORT: A 6-year-old girl with multiple characteristic cutaneous vascular lesions was admitted for a massive rectal bleeding. A few months previously she was endoscopically treated for gastric angiomas which developed into melaena. Preoperative investigations revealed the recurrence of gastric lesions. At laparotomy, more than 25 angiomas of the GI tract were found. Multiple intestinal resections were carried out. RESULTS: No intraoperative or postoperative problems occurred and the girl is completely healthy without further bleeding after a follow-up period of three years. CONCLUSIONS: BRBNS belongs to the group of vascular venous malformations. Most of the time it occurs sporadically, but it can be inherited as an autosomal dominant trait. Recent analysis identified a locus on chromosome 9 responsible for venous malformations. BRBNS patients present typical skin lesions, with some lesions having a rubber-like nipple appearance; the number of skin and GI lesions and the severity of anaemia are correlated. Treatment is dependent on the extent of gut involvement and the severity of the clinical picture. In the absence of massive bleeding, a conservative treatment will be sufficient; otherwise resections are mandatory, but additional lesions may subsequently develop. Management with electrocautery or laser photocoagulation are usually not effective even if some reports recommend them. Pharmacological treatment is useless. Prognosis of BRBNS is unknown.     

Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome: Extensive small bowel vascular lesions responsible for gastrointestinal bleeding

Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome is a rare condition characterised by multiorgan venous malformations, in particular of cutaneous area and the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. We report here a child with chronic iron deficiency anaemia, melena and skin lesions. She had severe hypochromic microcytic anaemia. Upper and lower endoscopy revealed hundreds of red-bluish polypoid lesions involving the entire GI tract primarily of the small bowel. Due to localisation of the most severe lesions, the patient responded well to surgical treatment, allowing a sustained clinical remission.     

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome with CNS involvement

We report a child with Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome (BRBNS) and marked CNS-involvement and complex neurological impairment. Computed tomography showed intracerebral calcification and vascular malformations. The patient is microcephalic, his psychomotor development is delayed and he has a deficit of motor coordination and visual function. We know of only one report of a child with BRBNS and such CNS involvement.     

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome with knee joint disorder

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) involves cutaneous vascular malformation characterized by multiple venous malformations. This commonly affects the skin and gastrointestinal tract. BRBNS is associated with anemia and occasionally involves orthopedic manifestations. A 6‐year‐old boy was referred to hospital for evaluation of anemia. He presented with a rubber‐like soft‐tissue mass in the left knee and the right side of the neck, recurrent pain, and fixed flexion contracture of the knee. Blood examination indicated consumption coagulopathy and anemia caused by not only iron‐deficiency anemia but also microangiopathy. Endoscopy of the gastrointestinal tract indicated multiple bluish‐black sessile venous malformations. Ultrasonography and magnetic resonance imaging of the knee showed intra‐articular and intramuscular involvement. Based on these findings, BRBNS with knee joint disorder was diagnosed. With regard to vascular malformations, like other diseases such as inflammatory arthropathy, ultrasonography of the joint may become a new diagnostic approach for evaluating orthopedic manifestations.     

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome: successful treatment with sirolimus

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) is a rare disorder with characteristic vascular malformations of the skin, gastrointestinal system, and, less often, other organ systems. The characteristic cutaneous lesions consist of deep-blue, soft, rubbery blebs, which are easily compressible. The most serious complication is abundant gastrointestinal bleeding. We describe the case of an 8-year-old girl with diagnosed BRBNS who had multiple venous malformations all over her body, importantly, throughout the gastrointestinal tract, mouth, esophagus, stomach, small bowel, and colon. She presented with recurrent massive gastrointestinal bleeding and soft tissue hematoma despite prednisolone and α-interferon therapy. We started low-dose sirolimus as an antiangiogenic agent. The vascular masses were reduced rapidly and there was no gastrointestinal bleeding and muscular hematoma after sirolimus therapy. There was no drug adverse reaction at 20-month follow-up. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report related to the use of sirolimus in a patient with BRBNS.     

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome with simultaneous neurological and skeletal involvement

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) is a rare disorder characterized by venous malformations usually affecting the skin and the gastrointestinal tract. These skin haemangiomas are present at birth and deteriorate as the body grows, causing primarily cosmetic problems. The haemangiomas of the gastrointestinal tract may appear later in life and may bleed, causing chronic anaemia, or may present with severe complications such as rupture, intestinal torsion, and intussusception. Other organs may also be involved. This article describes a 13-year-old boy with multiple haemangiomas of the skin, the mucous membranes, and the gastrointestinal tract, which caused anaemia and ileoileic intussusception. In this patient, the nervous system was significantly affected with a haemangioma of the left occipital lobe, with complications of stroke. He also had multiple paravertebral heamangiomas, which caused pressure signs and symptoms. This boy suffered from complex partial and generalized seizures and cerebral palsy. Multiple skeletal anomalies were also present from birth. In the relevant literature, this is the first case of BRBNS with simultaneous neurological and skeletal involvement. Such cases should be recognized early, as they can lead to serious multiple health problems and handicaps.     

Bluish cutaneo-digestive angiomatosis or Bean's blue rubber-bleb nevus. A rare syndrome

A 13 years old girl is admitted for severe chronic anemia. Few blood sac looking like lesion are discovered. A Blue Rubber Bleb Nevus Syndrome is confirmed discovery of multiple intestinal angioma. No deep lesion is discovered otherwise. Clinical characteristics, nosology and evolutive trend of this rare syndrome are recalled.     

A new approach to blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome: the role of capsule endoscopy and intra-operative enteroscopy

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) is a rare vascular malformation disorder with cutaneous and visceral lesions frequently associated with serious, even fatal bleeding and anemia. The syndrome is considered to be autosomaly predominantly inherited. Intra-operative enteroscopy (IOE) is the best method of identification of all lesions (particularly the small ones, less than 3 mm) and treatment by endoscopic electro-coagulation or surgical excision. Capsule wireless endoscopy is optimal for screening before the IOE and for monitoring the effect of therapy (in patients with BRBNS). We report two cases of BRBNS. Anemia, gastrointestinal bleeding, gastrointestinal malformations and multifocal venous malformations of the skin were present in both of our cases. Gastrointestinal lesions were identified by gastroscopy, colonoscopy and capsule endoscopy. The multiple venous malformations were treated partly by endoscopic electro-coagulation (lesions up to 4 mm in diameter) and by wedge resection. Both of our patients were 12-year-old girls at the time of operation. In the first patient 31 venous malformations of the small bowel were coagulated, two were resected by the surgeon. In the second patient 20 lesions were coagulated endoscopically and another 31 nevi were resected during an 8 h procedure. The first girl is doing fine 4 years after the procedure, the second was allowed home 2 weeks after the procedure in excellent condition. IOE is a unique method of small bowel investigation and concurrently provides a solution for pathological findings. Capsule endoscopy is a feasible non-invasive screening procedure. We believe that a radical eliminatory approach by means of combined surgery and IOE is indicated for the BRBNS to prevent ongoing gastrointestinal bleeding.     

Gastrointestinal bleeding and paraparesis in blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS), which consists of cutaneous and visceral hemangiomas, is a rare disease. Complications such as gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding, anemia and coagulopathy have been documented. We report a patient with BRBNS who presented with acute paraparesis in addition to GI bleeding and coagulopathy.     

Diagnosis and treatment of blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome in children

Background  Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome (BRBNS) is characterized by distinctive vascular malformations of skin and the gastrointestinal tract, often leading to chronic anemia and intestinal bleeding. It usually presents right after birth or during early infancy. Though the disease is inherent, its occurrence is sporadic. Thus it is usually not timely diagnosed. We analyzed the clinical characteristics and treatment of this disorder in order to improve the diagnosis and treatment. Methods  Three patients with BRBNS treated at our hospital during 2002–2003 and 39 patients from the literature reported during 1965–2003 were reviewed in terms of the diagnosis and treatment. BRBNS may be diagnosed as cutaneous cavernous hemangioma associated with the same lesion of the gastrointestinal tract and other organs. Results  Our 3 patients suffered from cutaneous angioma and gastrointestinal hemangioma. In 39 patients reported in the literature, cutaneous angioma was observed in all of them, and gastrointestinal hemangioma in 31. Additionally, the lesions were also found in other organs such as the brain (7 patients), joint (2), liver (2), eye (1), kidney (1) and spleen (1). Cutaneous angioma was located on the surface of the skin, including body (93%), limbs (86%), hip (36%) and face (26%). Gastrointestinal hemangioma was more common in the small intestine (100%) than in the colon (74%) and stomach (26%). When the joint was involved by hemangioma, pathologic fracture or overgrowth of bone needed traction and amputation (1 patient respectively). For significant gastrointestinal bleeding, endoscopic techniques (8 patients), surgical excision (5), or both (1) were performed. Recurrent bleeding was successfully treated by endoscopic laser combined with steroid or interferon in one patient. Conclusions  BRBNS in children presents atypical symptom and systemic complications. It should be dealt with seriously if gastrointestinal bleeding or orthopedic complication occurs. Treatment includes conservative, endoscopic and surgical options. Its recurrence with new angioma in the gastrointestinal tract needs laser-steroid therapy.     

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome

Blue rubber bleb nevus syndrome is a rare disorder characterized by distinctive cutaneous and gastrointestinal venous malformations that usually cause massive or occult gastrointestinal hemorrhage and iron deficiency anemia secondary to the bleeding episodes. It is even a rare cause of gastrointestinal hemorrhage during childhood. We describe a 6-year-old boy who had multiple venous malformations all over his body. He also suffered from several episodes of melena, chronic anemia, and growth retardation. The endoscopic examination of the gastrointestinal tract revealed multiple bluish-black sessile and polypoid venous malformations in various sizes. It was possible to remove the largest venous malformations causing massive bleeding during colonoscopy.     

Colonic venous malformation and portal hypertension: association,management, and review of the literature

We present a case of an adolescent with lower gastrointestinal bleeding caused by a colorectal venous malformation (VM) with concomitant portal hypertension. After an episode of massive gastrointestinal bleeding, we performed an extended right hemicolectomy and resection of the VM and selective portosystemic shunt. Here, we present the case and review the literature regarding portal hypertension and gastrointestinal vascular malformations. Additionally, we discuss the physiologic and hemodynamic effects of gastrointestinal vascular malformations on the portal system.     

西罗莫司治疗儿童蓝色橡皮疱痣综合征2例并文献复习

为探讨口服西罗莫司治疗儿童胃肠道蓝色橡皮疱痣综合征（BRBNS）的疗效,该文回顾性分析了2例BRBNS患儿的临床资料和使用西罗莫司治疗的随访结果。2例伴有消化道出血和贫血的BRBNS患儿,给予口服西罗莫司（初始剂量为1 mg/d）作为治疗方案的一部分,维持血药浓度在2.5~12.0 ng/mL之间,患儿消化道出血消失,贫血和凝血功能改善,治疗期间可停止输血且无明显药物不良反应。在PubMed、万方数据库、中国知网搜索西罗莫司治疗BRBNS的相关文献进行总结。检索文献结果显示,年龄为0~18岁的BRBNS儿童病例共检索出26例,加上该研究中报道的2例,共28例使用西罗莫司治疗均取得满意疗效。西罗莫司在儿童BRBNS患者的治疗中可能是有效和安全的,有待进一步的前瞻性研究来评估这种药物的长期疗效。     

西罗莫司治疗儿童蓝色橡皮疱痣综合征2例并文献复习

为探讨口服西罗莫司治疗儿童胃肠道蓝色橡皮疱痣综合征（BRBNS）的疗效,该文回顾性分析了2例BRBNS患儿的临床资料和使用西罗莫司治疗的随访结果。2例伴有消化道出血和贫血的BRBNS患儿,给予口服西罗莫司（初始剂量为1 mg/d）作为治疗方案的一部分,维持血药浓度在2.5~12.0 ng/mL之间,患儿消化道出血消失,贫血和凝血功能改善,治疗期间可停止输血且无明显药物不良反应。在PubMed、万方数据库、中国知网搜索西罗莫司治疗BRBNS的相关文献进行总结。检索文献结果显示,年龄为0~18岁的BRBNS儿童病例共检索出26例,加上该研究中报道的2例,共28例使用西罗莫司治疗均取得满意疗效。西罗莫司在儿童BRBNS患者的治疗中可能是有效和安全的,有待进一步的前瞻性研究来评估这种药物的长期疗效。     

Munchausen syndrome by proxy: a new complication of central venous catheterization

A recent case of supposed gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding in a small child underscored the difficulty inherent in making the diagnosis of Munchausen syndrome by proxy. In this case, an indwelling Broviac central venous catheter was used by the mother to withdraw blood which was then arranged to feign blood loss from her son's upper and lower GI tract. Despite the mother/perpetrator's displaying the classic personality traits of Munchausen syndrome by proxy, diagnosis was not made for many weeks.     

Portal obstruction in children. I. Clinical investigation and hemorrhage risk

We examined 108 children with obstruction of the portal vein. Symptoms included splenomegaly and gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage. Obstruction was secondary to portal vein injury in 44 children and was combined with congenital malformations in 17 others. Ultrasonography provided the correct diagnosis in 36 of the 37 children in whom it was performed. Angiography, performed in 101 children, showed that the obstruction extended to the superior mesenteric vein in 14 children and to the entire portal venous system in seven; intrahepatic branches were involved in half the cases. Natural splenorenal shunts were visible in 19 children but were not clearly associated with a lower risk of gastrointestinal tract bleeding; in five of 30 children, cavography displayed abnormalities of the inferior vena cava. Spontaneous gastrointestinal tract hemorrhage occurred in 78 children. Fiberoptic endoscopy showed esophageal varices in 79 of the 81 children studied. The presence of tense varices and congestion of esophageal mucosa clearly augmented the risk of bleeding. These results suggest a simple method of investigation based on ultrasonography for diagnosis and on endoscopy for prognosis. Angiography should be limited to children with a history of gastrointestinal tract bleeding for whom a surgical portosystemic shunt is being considered.     

Expanding the phenotype of multifocal lymphangioendotheliomatosis with thrombocytopenia

Multifocal lymphangioendotheliomatosis with thrombocytopenia is characterized by vascular skin and gastrointestinal (GI) tract lesions, thrombocytopenia, and GI bleeding. The first patient had scattered red macules and subcutaneous nodules on the skin with involvement of the lungs, liver, omentum, and right kidney. At 10 months of age he continues to have severe GI bleeding. The second patient had innumerable vascular plaques on the skin plus muscle, bone, lung, liver, and brain involvement. She died from respiratory failure at 8 months of age due to brainstem involvement. Both patients required aggressive management of GI bleeding, but had quite different skin findings and long‐term outcomes. Pediatr Blood Cancer 2009;52:531–534. © 2008 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.     

BUN/Cr ratio as an index of gastrointestinal bleeding mass in children.

Determining the site and severity of blood loss is important in the management of children with gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Blood urea nitrogen (BUN) and serum creatinine (Cr) were measured on the day of hospitalization and the ratio of BUN/Cr was calculated in 11 children with 16 episodes of upper GI bleeding and 49 with lower GI bleeding. There was a significant difference between the two GI bleeding groups with regard to BUN/Cr ratio (p less than 0.001). When the ratio was 30 or above, the specificity of upper GI bleeding was 98% with a sensitivity of 68.8%. A linear relationship was found between the BUN/Cr ratio and delta Hb (delta Hb = 0.08 x BUN/Cr +/- 0.8 g/dl) for bleeding originating from the upper GI tract. This study confirms that measurement of the BUN/Cr ratio is useful for localizing the source of bleeding to the upper GI tract and also demonstrates its usefulness as an estimation of the severity of blood loss from the upper GI tract.     

A case of extrahepatic portal hypertension

Bleeding from the proximal part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is not uncommon in children. Children could present with anemia secondary to chronic occult bleeding in the gastrointestinal tract or as anemia secondary to acute exsanguinations and can present in hypovolemic shock. There are various causes of upper GI bleeding in children. A systematic approach in evaluating these children is essential so that the diagnosis is made in timely manner and appropriate management is begun early.     

Gastrointestinal Malformations Associated with Prune Belly Syndrome: Three Cases and a Review of the Literature

Prune belly syndrome (PBS), a triad consisting of abdominal musculature hypoplasia, urinary tract malformations, and cryptorchidism, is frequently associated with other congenital malformations. Although it is acknowledged that gastrointestinal (GI) malrotation and mesenteric anomalies are frequent in PBS, other GI anomalies are generally considered to be exceedingly rare. Here we describe 3 autopsy cases with severe malformations of both midgut and hindgut derivatives and review the world literature to evaluate the spectrum of GI malformations associated with this syndrome. The relatively high frequency of distal stenoses and atrcsias suggests that the anomalous mesenteric attachments may predispose to prenatal volvulus and subsequent anatomic bowel obstruction. Postnatal volvulus is also occasionally observed. Infants with PBS also appear to be at a higher risk for persistence of the common fetal cloaca.