Fulminant phlegmonitis of the esophagus,stomach,and duodenum due to Bacillus thuringiensis

We report a case of phlegmonitis of the esophagus, stomach, and duodenum in patient in an immunocompromised state. Culture of gastric juice and blood yielded Bacillus thuringiensis. This case showed that even low-virulence bacilli can cause lethal gastrointestinalphlegmonous gastritis in conditions of immunodeficiency.     

Crohn's disease of the duodenum.

Crohn's disease of the duodenum is uncommon, occurring in approximately 2% of patients with Crohn's disease. Approximately 165 cases have been reported in small series in the literature. Our report includes 36 patients, most of whom had symptoms of duodenal disease coincident with or after obvious disease elsewhere in the gastrointestinal tract, although occasionally duodenal disease developed first and rarely disease was confined to the duodenum. Upper abdominal pain and symptoms of gastroduodenal obstruction are the commonest patterns of presentation. Significant weight loss is common, and occasionally major upper gastrointestinal bleeding occurs. The commonest pattern of involvement was contiguous disease of the proximal duodenum and distal stomach. Endoscopically, diffuse granularity, nodularity, and ulceration are seen accompanied by lack of distensibility of the involved area. Granulomas are rarely found in endoscopic biopsies. A bypass procedure was carried out on 18 patients, 15 of whom continue to be free of symptoms with an average follow-up of 6-6 years. When symptoms of obstruction dictate, operative bypass is accompanied by favourable long-term results in the large majority of patients.     

Crohn's disease of the esophagus

Crohn's disease only rarely affects the esophagus, usually producing strictures and fistulas. Superficial lesions such as erosive esophagitis are infrequent. Histological proof of esophageal Crohn's disease is only exceptionally obtained with endoscopic biopsies. In a 4-year period we have followed 500 patients with Crohn's disease. Esophageal involvement was recognized in nine patients, usually because of painful dysphagia. Esophagoscopy revealed large aphthoid lesions. The clinical picture was characterized by: (a) involvement of multiple segments of the gastrointestinal tract, (b) extraintestinal manifestations, and (c) critical illness of the patients. Esophageal lesions and symptoms disappeared quickly with therapy. Routine histology of esophagoscopic biopsies revealed granulomas in only two patients, but additional sections showed granulomas in another five.     

Crohn's disease of the esophagus

Esophageal involvement in patients with Crohn's disease is uncommon. Histologic proof is rarely obtained by means of endoscopic biopsies. Moreover, the natural history of this condition and its response to therapy are largely unknown. We report a case of biopsy-proven esophageal Crohn's disease, which presented with a stricture of the distal third of the esophagus and was successfully treated by progressive endoscopic dilatation.     

Crohn''s disease of the stomach and duodenum

Clinical and radiological abnormalities in 12 patients with gastroduodenal involvement were encountered amongst 300 patients followed by one of us between 1944 and 1969. Symptoms of dyspepsia were relatively mild and obstructive symptoms when present were readily relieved by bypass surgery. The patients have been followed for a mean of 9.7 years (range 1-20); two have died of other causes but the remaining 10 are well.     

Endoscopic evaluation of the involvement of the esophagus, stomach and duodenum in human paracoccidioidomycosis

The upper gastrointestinal tract was investigated endoscopically in 30 patients with paracoccidioidomycosis. Esophagus, stomach and duodenum showed, respectivelly, 40%, 53% and 43% of endoscopic alterations. The histopathological examination of biopsy tissue revealed no specific lesions in esophagus and stomach, but P. brasiliensis was observed in three cases of duodenal lesions: two cases with mucosal diffuse erosions and one case of duodenal polyp. It is concluded that duodenal paracoccidioidomycosis is not rare and could be revealed by endoscopic examination in patients with disseminated disease.     

Adenocarcinoma complicating Crohn's disease of the duodenum.

Duodenal obstruction is a classic complication of Crohn's disease with duodenal involvement. However, malignant transformation of duodenal lesions has very rarely been reported, and diagnosis of such a transformation is rarely made preoperatively. We report the case of a 32-year-old patient with an 8-year history of Crohn's disease who underwent bypass gastrojejunostomy for a duodenal stricture. A year later, weight loss and biliary obstruction led to a further laparotomy. At operation, an advanced carcinoma with peritoneal seedings was confirmed. Of the three patients previously reported in the literature with duodenal cancer arising in Crohn's disease stricture, only one had a preoperative diagnosis of malignancy made from endoscopic biopsies. When considering the surgical bypass of Crohn's duodenal stricture, if preoperative endoscopy and biopsy cannot be performed on account of duodenal stricturing, we suggest performing a peroperative endoscopy via a jejunotomy in order to eliminate the diagnosis of associated duodenal malignancy.     

Crohn's disease involving the proximal stomach

We report an unusual case of Crohn's disease of the esophagus and stomach. Unlike previously described cases, the disease in this patient affected the fundus and body while sparing the antrum of the stomach, and produced a mass effect simulating malignancy.     

IL-18与胃十二指肠疾病相关性研究进展

自1995年日本学者发现细胞因子IL-18以来,研究发现IL-18与众多临床疾病相关联。如自身免疫性疾病、变态反应性疾病、精神疾病、心脏疾病和肝损伤等。已有关于慢性胃炎患者胃黏膜组织内存在IL-18mRNA表达的报道。此文就IL-18自身特点及其与胃十二指肠疾病相关性研究进展进行综述。