Ulcerative jejunoileitis and enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma.

Ulcerative jejunoileitis and enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma are rare conditions described in patients with refractory coeliac disease. Ulcerations affect the small bowel and are unrelated to drugs, ischaemia, infections or other known causes. We describe a female patient with an unclassified enteropathy who experienced several episodes of jejunoileal ulcerations. Several resections of the small bowel segments were necessary. The repetitive ulcerations were either from cytotoxic T cells, the patient developed a T-cell lymphoma, and malignant cells could be detected at the bottom of the ulcers, or from acid-producing cells in areas of gastric metaplasia. Two mechanisms might thus be responsible for the occurrence of repetitive ulceration, and require different treatment strategies. The patient is currently being treated with proton pump inhibitors, oral steroids and parenteral nutrition.

Effects of exogenous recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (filgrastim, rhG-CSF) on neutrophils of critically ill patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome depend on endogenous G-CSF plasma concentrations on admission.

OBJECTIVE: To investigate the effects of exogenous recombinant human granulocyte colony-stimulating factor (rhG-CSF; filgrastim) application on the neutrophils of patients at risk of sepsis following major trauma or operation. DESIGN: Randomized controlled trial. SETTING: Surgical intensive care unit and research laboratory of a university hospital. PATIENTS: Twenty-seven patients with systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). INTERVENTIONS: Thirteen patients were treated with filgrastim (1 micro g.kg.24 h) for 10 days as a continuous infusion. Fourteen patients served as controls. MEASUREMENTS AND RESULTS: Surface expression of FcgammaR type I (CD64), phagocytosis of E. coli, and the E. coli-induced oxidative burst of neutrophils were tested by flow cytometry. On the first postoperative/posttraumatic day, endogenous G-CSF plasma concentrations were <300 pg/ml in seven controls (subgroup 1) and nine filgrastim patients (subgroup 3), and were already elevated with >500 pg/ml in seven controls (subgroup 2) and four filgrastim patients (subgroup 4). G-CSF values ( P=0.0026, subgroup 1/3; P=0.0167, 2/4), neutrophil counts ( P=0.0026, 1/3; P=0.0167, 2/4), and CD64 expression ( P=0.0013, 1/3) were higher in filgrastim-treated than non-treated subgroups, but not phagocytic and burst activities. From day zero to day 1, phagocytosis decreased in subgroups 1 (5/7 patients) and 3 (5/9), but increased in subgroups 2 (5/7) and 4 (3/4), and respiratory burst activity decreased in subgroup 3 (8/9). CONCLUSIONS: Besides activation of neutrophil maturation, low-dose rhG-CSF application in postoperative patients with SIRS has different effects on neutrophil functions, in part depending on already endogenously produced G-CSF.