ABSTRACT
Intussusception is an extraordinary cause of acute abdomen in adults and has been defined as the telescoping of a bowel segment into the lumen of an adjacent segment. A 43-year-old female presented to our hospital's emergency department (ED) with 10+ episodes of bloody diarrhea per day, left-sided abdominal pain, and the inability to tolerate oral intake for one month. She was initially diagnosed with ulcerative colitis (UC) ten years ago and is currently on mesalamine oral and enema therapy. She presented to our gastroenterology clinic two weeks after the beginning of her flare and was started on prednisone 40 mg daily. This did not improve her symptoms, and she presented to the ED two weeks later. She underwent a computed tomography (CT) abdomen/pelvis which revealed intussusception in the left hemiabdomen with no definite lead point measuring 5.6 cm in the craniocaudal dimension with pneumatosis and no evidence of bowel obstruction. There were no other significant laboratory abnormalities. Acute care surgery was consulted and suggested obtaining a CT enterography for further evaluation which showed spontaneous resolution of intussusception with no evidence of pneumatosis, portal venous gas, or intraperitoneal free air. She reports that following oral contrast intake, she "felt movement and relaxation" in her abdomen with substantial pain relief. Infectious workup was negative, and therapy was initiated with intravenous steroids. In conclusion, intussusception has been very rarely reported in patients with UC with the most common treatment being surgical resection. However, conservative management in the absence of bowel obstruction can be attempted.
ABSTRACT
The ongoing pandemic of the novel coronavirus of 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in over 1 million deaths, primarily affecting older patients with chronic ailments. Multiple sclerosis (MS) patients have been deemed particularly vulnerable given their high rates of disability and increased susceptibility to infections. There have also been concerns regarding disease-modifying therapy (DMT) during the pandemic as many DMTs may increase the risk of infection due to some of their immunosuppressive properties. Furthermore, due to MS-related chronic inflammatory damage within the central nervous system, there have been concerns for worsening neurological injury by COVID-19. This has resulted in an alarmingly high level of anxiety and stress among the MS community leading to a lack of compliance with medications and routine check-ups, and even failure to obtain treatment for relapse. However, there is currently substantial evidence that MS and most DMT usage is not associated with increased COVID-19 severity. MS patients who suffer worse outcomes were more likely to be older and suffer from significant disabilities and comorbid conditions, which would also be expected from those in the general population. Likewise, there is little if any evidence demonstrating an increased susceptibility of MS patients to COVID-19-related neurological complications. Therefore, we aim to summarize the most recent findings related to COVID-19 and MS demonstrating that MS and most DMTs do not appear as risk factors for severe COVID-19.
