This article reports the revision rate and possible risk factors for lower extremity amputations in patients with diabetes mellitus or peripheral arterial disease (PAD). Data were collected from 421 patients with diabetes mellitus or PAD who underwent amputations of the lower extremity at the authors' institution from 2002 to 2012. There was a 25.2% overall revision rate. Mean time from amputation to revision was 244 days (range, 2-2590 days). Patients with diabetes mellitus had a significantly higher rate of revision to a more proximal level compared with patients without diabetes mellitus (type 1: odds ratio [OR]=3.73; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.21-11.52; P=.022; and type 2: OR=2.3; 95% CI, 1.07-4.95; P=.033). A significant increase in revision rates was observed from Fontaine stage 0 to IV (stage 0: 17.9%; stage IV, 34.7%; P=.03). Risk factors for revision were diabetic nephropathy (OR=2.26; 95% CI, 1.4-3.63; P=.001) and polyneuropathy (OR=1.68; 95% CI, 1.03-2.73; P=.037). Patients who underwent revision amputation had a significantly younger mean age than patients who did not undergo revision amputation (65.23 years [range, 40-92 years] vs 68.52 years [range, 32-96 years]; P=.013). Anticipated amputation in this patient population requires a multidisciplinary approach with optimization of the patient's health. In the authors' clinical practice, the determination of the appropriate amputation level is performed individually for each patient, considering the risk factors identified in this study and the patient's expected mobilization potential, social background, and acceptance of a more proximal primary amputation level.

Background: Although the diagnostic process in celiac disease (CeD) has been addressed in several international guidelines, little is known about the actual proceeding in current clinical practice. This study investigated the initial presentation, the diagnostic process, follow-up evaluations, and adherence to a gluten-free diet in CeD patients in a real-life setting in Switzerland from a patient’s perspective. Methods: We performed a large patient survey among unselected CeD patients in Switzerland. Results: A total of 1689 patients were analyzed. The vast majority complained of both gastrointestinal and nonspecific symptoms (71.5%), whereas 1.8% reported an asymptomatic disease course. A total of 35.8% CeD patients were diagnosed by a nongastroenterologist. The diagnostic process differed between nongastroenterologists and gastroenterologists, with the latter more often using duodenal biopsy alone or in combination with serology (94.7% vs. 63.0%) and nongastroenterologists more frequently establishing the diagnosis without endoscopy (37.0% vs. 5.3%, P<0.001). Follow-up serology after 6 months was performed only in half of all patients (49.4%), whereas 69.9% had at least 1 follow-up serology within the first year after diet initiation. About 39.7% had a follow-up endoscopy with duodenal biopsies (after a median of 12 mo; range, 1 to 600 mo). The likelihood of receiving any follow-up examination was higher in patients initially diagnosed by a gastroenterologist. Conclusions: A significant proportion of CeD patients are diagnosed by nongastroenterologists. Under the diagnostic lead of the latter, more than a third of the patients receive their diagnosis on the basis of a positive serology and/or genetics only, in evident violation of current diagnostic guidelines, which may lead to an overdiagnosis of this entity.

SUMMARYWe describe the case of a 51-year-old man with recently diagnosed ulcerative colitis who developed fever and elevated liver enzymes as well as cholestasis a few weeks after starting treatment with mesalazine. As no obvious cause was found and fever persisted, liver biopsy was performed and revealed granulomatous hepatitis. The patient recovered completely after cessation of mesalazine, so that a drug-induced granulomatous hepatitis after exclusion of other differential diagnoses in an extensive work up was assumed. The present case demonstrates that even though drug-induced liver injury due to mesalazine is rare, it should be considered in unclear cases and lead to prompt discontinuation of mesalazine. BACKGROUND

In patients with positive blood cultures for Salmonella in combination with fever, back or abdominal pain a workup for infectious aortitis and a rapid treatment is recommended.

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