Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid Syndrome
We report the case of a woman with a history of chronic alcohol abuse who was hospitalized with diarrhea, severe hypokalemia refractory to potassium infusion, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, alternations of high blood pressure with phases of hypotension, irritability and increased urinary 5-hydrox...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
Karger Publishers
2012-08-01
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| Series: | Case Reports in Gastroenterology |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/341588 |
| _version_ | 1818511421753786368 |
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| author | Piercarlo Ballo Pietro Dattolo Giuseppe Mangialavori Giuseppe Ferro Francesca Fusco Matteo Consalvo Leandro Chiodi Francesco Pizzarelli Alfredo Zuppiroli |
| author_facet | Piercarlo Ballo Pietro Dattolo Giuseppe Mangialavori Giuseppe Ferro Francesca Fusco Matteo Consalvo Leandro Chiodi Francesco Pizzarelli Alfredo Zuppiroli |
| author_sort | Piercarlo Ballo |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | We report the case of a woman with a history of chronic alcohol abuse who was hospitalized with diarrhea, severe hypokalemia refractory to potassium infusion, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, alternations of high blood pressure with phases of hypotension, irritability and increased urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and cortisol. Although carcinoid syndrome was hypothesized, abdominal computed tomography and colonoscopy showed non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with severe colic wall thickening, and multiple colic biopsies confirmed non-specific inflammation with no evidence of carcinoid cells. During the following days diarrhea slowly decreased and the patient’s condition progressively improved. One year after stopping alcohol consumption, the patient was asymptomatic and serum potassium was normal. Chronic alcohol exposure is known to have several deleterious effects on the intestinal mucosa and can favor and sustain local inflammation. Chronic alcohol intake may also be associated with high blood pressure, behavior disorders, abnormalities in blood pressure regulation with episodes of hypotension during hospitalization due to impaired baroreflex sensitivity in the context of an alcohol withdrawal syndrome, increased urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid as a result of malabsorption syndrome, and increased urinary cortisol as a result of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation. These considerations, together with the regression of symptoms and normalization of potassium levels after stopping alcohol consumption, suggest the intriguing possibility of a alcohol-related acute inflammatory bowel disease mimicking carcinoid syndrome. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:33:10Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-bdf224e3f053481ca7161feafddc98ad |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1662-0631 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-10T23:33:10Z |
| publishDate | 2012-08-01 |
| publisher | Karger Publishers |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Case Reports in Gastroenterology |
| spelling | doaj.art-bdf224e3f053481ca7161feafddc98ad2022-12-22T01:29:18ZengKarger PublishersCase Reports in Gastroenterology1662-06312012-08-016254554910.1159/000341588341588Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid SyndromePiercarlo BalloPietro DattoloGiuseppe MangialavoriGiuseppe FerroFrancesca FuscoMatteo ConsalvoLeandro ChiodiFrancesco PizzarelliAlfredo ZuppiroliWe report the case of a woman with a history of chronic alcohol abuse who was hospitalized with diarrhea, severe hypokalemia refractory to potassium infusion, nausea, vomiting, abdominal pain, alternations of high blood pressure with phases of hypotension, irritability and increased urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid and cortisol. Although carcinoid syndrome was hypothesized, abdominal computed tomography and colonoscopy showed non-specific inflammatory bowel disease with severe colic wall thickening, and multiple colic biopsies confirmed non-specific inflammation with no evidence of carcinoid cells. During the following days diarrhea slowly decreased and the patient’s condition progressively improved. One year after stopping alcohol consumption, the patient was asymptomatic and serum potassium was normal. Chronic alcohol exposure is known to have several deleterious effects on the intestinal mucosa and can favor and sustain local inflammation. Chronic alcohol intake may also be associated with high blood pressure, behavior disorders, abnormalities in blood pressure regulation with episodes of hypotension during hospitalization due to impaired baroreflex sensitivity in the context of an alcohol withdrawal syndrome, increased urinary 5-hydroxyindoleacetic acid as a result of malabsorption syndrome, and increased urinary cortisol as a result of hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis dysregulation. These considerations, together with the regression of symptoms and normalization of potassium levels after stopping alcohol consumption, suggest the intriguing possibility of a alcohol-related acute inflammatory bowel disease mimicking carcinoid syndrome.http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/341588Acute inflammatory bowel diseaseCarcinoid syndromeChronic alcoholism |
| spellingShingle | Piercarlo Ballo Pietro Dattolo Giuseppe Mangialavori Giuseppe Ferro Francesca Fusco Matteo Consalvo Leandro Chiodi Francesco Pizzarelli Alfredo Zuppiroli Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid Syndrome Case Reports in Gastroenterology Acute inflammatory bowel disease Carcinoid syndrome Chronic alcoholism |
| title | Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid Syndrome |
| title_full | Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid Syndrome |
| title_fullStr | Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid Syndrome |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid Syndrome |
| title_short | Acute Inflammatory Bowel Disease Complicating Chronic Alcoholism and Mimicking Carcinoid Syndrome |
| title_sort | acute inflammatory bowel disease complicating chronic alcoholism and mimicking carcinoid syndrome |
| topic | Acute inflammatory bowel disease Carcinoid syndrome Chronic alcoholism |
| url | http://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/341588 |
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