A case of hemophagocytic syndrome in a patient with fulminant ulcerative colitis superinfected by cytomegalovirus

Hemophagocytic syndrome (HPS) is an uncommon hematological disorder that manifests as fever, splenomegaly, and jaundice, with hemophagocytosis in the bone marrow and other tissues pathologically. Secondary HPS is associated with malignancy and infection, especially viral infection. The prevalence of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients is approximately 16%. Nevertheless, HPS in UC superinfected by CMV is very rare. A 52-year-old female visited the hospital complaining of abdominal pain and hematochezia for 6 days. She was diagnosed with UC 3 years earlier and had been treated with sulfasalazine, but had stopped her medication 4 months earlier. On admission, her spleen was enlarged. The peripheral blood count revealed pancytopenia and bone marrow aspiration smears showed hemophagocytosis. Viral studies revealed CMV infection. She was treated successfully with ganciclovir. We report this case with a review of the related literature.

A Case of Gastric Langerhans Cell Histiocytosis Showing Hypertrophic Folds / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Langerhans cell histiocytosis is a rare disease entity in which various tissue are infiltrated by proliferating histiocytes. Involvement of alimentary tract is rare (<5%), especially in the stomach. Only seven cases of gastric Langerhans cell histiocytosis have been reported in Enlglish literature. Diabetes insipidus is the most common endocrinologic complication. We report a case of Langerhans cell histiocytosis involving stomach and pituitary stalk. The diagnosis of gastric Langerhans cell histiocytosis and diabetes insipidus was based on gastric mucosal biopsy specimen from a Korean man with suspicious hypertrophic gastric folds of gastric body, water deprivation test and sella MRI.