RESUMEN
Introducción: La colitis ulcerosa (CU) es una enfermedad inflamatoria intestinal que afecta el colon y el recto de etiología desconocida. Se ha planteado la apendicectomía electiva en pacientes con colitis ulcerosa refractaria como una alternativa de tratamiento. Objetivo: Comunicar el caso clínico de una paciente con CU refractaria a quien la apendicectomía electiva permitió una mejoría de su sintomatología y calidad de vida. Resultados: Se presenta el caso de una paciente de 46 años con antecedentes de hipotiroidismo y colitis ulcerosa de 2 años de evolución, con rectorragia, dolor abdominal y diarrea importante pese a la terapia biológica. Se decide apendicectomía laparoscópica electiva, logrando una mejoría sintomática de la paciente objetivada mediante la aplicación de la encuesta "Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire". El puntaje preoperatorio de la paciente fue de 60 puntos, y el postoperatorio de 176. Discusión: Se hace evidente que la colitis ulcerosa y el apéndice cecal están íntimamente relacionados. Los desafíos futuros deberían apuntarse a identificar las características clínicas que precisen qué pacientes se benefician de esta intervención.
Introduction: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease that affects the colon and rectum of unknown etiology. Elective appendectomy has been proposed as a possible treatment for patients with refractory ulcerative colitis. Objective: To report the clinical case of a patient with refractory UC who showed improvement in symptomatology and quality of life after undergoing elective appendectomy. Results: We present the case of a 46-year-old patient with a 2-year history of hypothyroidism and ulcerative colitis, with rectal bleeding, abdominal pain, and significant diarrhea despite biological therapy. Elective laparoscopic appendectomy was performed, resulting in symptomatic improvement of the patient as measured by the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire. The patient's preoperative score was 60 points, and the postoperative score was 176. Discussion: It seems evident that ulcerative colitis and the cecal appendix are intimately related. Future challenges should aim to identify clinical characteristics that determine which patients benefit from this intervention.
RESUMEN
Spontaneous intramural hematoma (IMH) is an uncommon cause of bowel obstruction, generally secondary to trauma. Even rarer is the spontaneous hematoma, mainly described in anticoagulated patients. We report a 73-year-old female in anticoagulant therapy who presented with a bowel obstruction. A computed tomography (CT) of the abdomen showed a segmentary wall thickening of the distal jejunum, compatible with an IMH which obliterated the lumen and produced dilatation of the proximal bowel loops. Support management was initiated, achieving satisfactory evolution, allowing her discharge 12 days after admission.