Objective: cavernous hemangioma of the rectosigmoid colon is a rare disease, with no more than 200 cases reported in the literature. The rectosigmoid is the most common site of this disease in the gastrointestinal tract. Case report: we report the case of a 31-year-old male with recurrent episodes of rectal bleeding, who was finally diagnosed of diffuse cavernous hemangioma of the rectum. The tumor, of 12 x 10 x 9 cm in size, occupied the rectum to the margin of the anal sphincter. A surgical procedure was ruled out because of the inability to carry out a safe anastomosis while preserving anal sphincters. Discussion: rectal hemangiomas are less frequent vascular malformations. The clinical presentation of a cavernous hemangioma of the rectum is usually acute, recurrent or chronic rectal bleeding. Other symptoms stem from the possible compression or invasion of adjacent structures, such as lumbar or perianal pain, metrorrhage, hematuria, etc. This diagnosis is commonly made in younger patients. Colonoscopy is without doubt the diagnostic technique of choice, and it allows to establish the localization, morphology, and total extension of the lesion; its characteristic image is a red-purplish nodule with great vascular congestion. According to the opinion of most authors, biopsy is not advisable during colonoscopy, since imaging techniques are sufficient for an accurate diagnosis, and the risk of bleeding while manipulating this lesion is not negligible. Computed tomography and particularly magnetic resonance imaging, given their high precision to delimit the lesion and its relations to adjacent structures, are imaging studies that are mandatory before surgical treatment. Other techniques such as selective angiography, barium enema, gastrointestinal transit, and upper-tract endoscopy may be supplementary and help locate more lesions along the gastrointestinal tract. Failure to recognize the exact diagnosis and extent of diffuse cavernous hemangioma may lead to failed surgical treatment and severe complications. Complete surgical excision of the lesion with a sphinctersaving procedure is the primary mode of treatment: conservative proctectomy with coloanal anastomosis.

Background Large real-world-evidence studies are required to confirm the durability of response, effectiveness, and safety of ustekinumab in Crohn’s disease (CD) patients in real-world clinical practice. Methods A retrospective, multicentre study was conducted in Spain in patients with active CD who had received ≥1 intravenous dose of ustekinumab for ≥6 months. Primary outcome was ustekinumab retention rate; secondary outcomes were to identify predictive factors for drug retention, short-term remission (week 16), loss of response and predictive factors for short-term efficacy and loss of response, and ustekinumab safety. Results A total of 463 patients were included. Mean baseline Harvey-Bradshaw Index was 8.4. A total of 447 (96.5%) patients had received prior biologic therapy, 141 (30.5%) of whom had received ≥3 agents. In addition, 35.2% received concomitant immunosuppressants, and 47.1% had ≥1 abdominal surgery. At week 16, 56% had remission, 70% had response, and 26.1% required dose escalation or intensification; of these, 24.8% did not subsequently reduce dose. After a median follow-up of 15 months, 356 (77%) patients continued treatment. The incidence rate of ustekinumab discontinuation was 18% per patient-year of follow-up. Previous intestinal surgery and concomitant steroid treatment were associated with higher risk of ustekinumab discontinuation, while a maintenance schedule every 12 weeks had a lower risk; neither concomitant immunosuppressants nor the number of previous biologics were associated with ustekinumab discontinuation risk. Fifty adverse events were reported in 39 (8.4%) patients; 4 of them were severe (2 infections, 1 malignancy, and 1 fever). Conclusions Ustekinumab is effective and safe as short- and long-term treatment in a refractory cohort of CD patients in real-world clinical practice.

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Alterations in blood clotting are a frequent complication of serious heatstroke and may result in gastrointestinal bleeding. We report the case of a 26-year-old man who was admitted to our hospital with symptoms of hyperthermia associated with encephalopathy and disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC) after prolonged exposure to sunlight. He presented hematemesis, after which he was diagnosed with having a bruising of the esophagus that took up the upper and lower thirds, there being no other lesions in the stomach or duodenum. After supportive treatment and following the resolution of the underlying pathology, the endoscopy-revealed injuries healed with a complete normalization of the esophageal mucosa. Esophageal submucosal bruising is an exceptional cause of hematemesis in serious heatstroke not previously described in the literature.