Introduction and aims
A case series of ten patients that received protocolized care for SARS-CoV-2 infection and developed severe gastrointestinal complications, is presented. The aim of our study was to contribute to the ongoing discussion regarding gastrointestinal complications related to SARS-CoV-2 infection. After reviewing the current literature, ours appears to be the first detailed case series on the topic.
Materials and methods
A retrospective filtered search of all patients admitted to our hospital for SARS-CoV-2 infection, who developed severe gastrointestinal complications, was performed. All relevant data on hospital patient management, before and after surgery, were collected from the medical records.
Results
Of the 905 patients admitted to our hospital due to SARS-CoV-2 infection, as of August 26, 2020, ten of them developed severe gastrointestinal complications. Seven of those patients were men. There were four cases of perforation of the proximal jejunum, three cases of perforations of the ascending colon, one case of concomitant perforation of the sigmoid colon and terminal ileum, one case of massive intestinal necrosis, and one preoperative death. Three right colectomies, four intestinal resections, one Hartmann’s procedure with bowel resection, and one primary repair of the small bowel were performed. The mortality rate of the patients analyzed was 50%.
Conclusion
Spontaneous bowel perforations and acute mesenteric ischemia are emerging as severe, life-threatening complications in hospitalized SARS-CoV-2 patients. More evidence is needed to identify risk factors, establish preventive measures, and analyze possible adverse effects of the current treatment protocols.
Introduction
Abdominal splenosis is a rare condition where autotransplanted ectopic spleen tissue is found in the abdominal cavity after spleen injury or splenectomy. While abdominal splenosis is mostly described as asymptomatic, bowel splenosis can present with abdominal pain, obstipation or gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding. Scarce information on bowel splenosis exists and high index of suspicion is needed for diagnosis. We present the case of a patient with abdominal pain and a cecal mass mimicking gastrointestinal stroma tumor (GIST) found to have bowel splenosis after laparoscopic resection.
Presentation of case
A 45-year-old female was evaluated for a 6-month history of abdominal pain in right-lower quadrant. She had past medical history of blunt abdominal trauma and splenectomy 35 years before symptoms. An abdominal contrast-enhanced computed tomography (CT) reported a 4.2 × 4.6 × 4.6 cm solid mass located in the antimesenteric border of the cecum, with calcifications and arterial enhancement. Colonoscopy found no epithelial lesions. A diagnostic laparoscopy was done, and resection of the mass achieved. Transoperative histopathological diagnosis revealed ectopic spleen tissue.
Discussion
It is difficult to know whether abdominal pain in bowel splenosis is actually triggered by splenosis itself or by an unrelated cause, making diagnosis incidental. There are no particular imaging findings suggestive of splenosis, and surgical resection is often done under uncertain diagnosis.
Conclusion
Bowel splenosis could present as abdominal pain variable time after spleen injury or splenectomy. Clinical features and imaging characteristics are nonspecific and similar to those of GIST. Most cases of splenosis are diagnosed after surgery.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.