Neutropenic enterocolitis: An unusual complication of HCV combination therapy with PEG-IFN and ribavirin

The Ever-Changing Landscape of Drug-Induced Injury of the Lower Gastrointestinal Tract

CONTEXT

-There is an ever-growing armamentarium of pharmacologic agents that can cause gastrointestinal (GI) mucosal injury, the most common symptoms being diarrhea, constipation, nausea, and vomiting. These are often self-limiting and without serious sequelae, but some symptoms are of greater concern, like drug-induced mucosal ulceration that can manifest as GI hemorrhage, stricture formation, and even perforation. Histologically, there is significant overlap between drug-induced injuries and various disease entities. A single type of medication may cause multiple patterns of injury, which can involve the entire GI tract or just some parts of it.

OBJECTIVE

-To review the most common drug-induced injury patterns affecting the colon, which may be recognized by the surgical pathologist on colonic mucosal biopsies. This review does not address the injuries occurring in the upper GI tract.

DATA SOURCES

-A PubMed review of English-language literature, up to December 2015, on drug-induced injury of GI tract was performed.

CONCLUSIONS

-There are numerous drugs that damage the colonic mucosa. The most common drugs are included in this review according to their histologic pattern of injury. It is important for the pathologist to keep in mind that a single drug type can induce many histologic patterns of mucosal injury that can mimic many disease entities. Although there are some histologic clues helpful in the diagnosis of drug-induced colonic injury, correlation with clinical history and especially medication history is essential to improve diagnostic accuracy.

Neutropenic enterocolitis affecting the transverse colon: an unusual complication of chemotherapy

A 66-year-old woman presented with a 1-day history of sudden onset of generalised abdominal pain associated with fever and vomiting. She was previously diagnosed with left breast cancer 2 months ago and completed a course of chemotherapy 1 week prior to presentation. She was clinically unwell with generalised tenderness in her abdomen. Blood investigations showed severe neutropenia. A CT scan was requested which reported a marked oedematous swelling of the transverse colon with features suggestive of a contained perforation. The decision was made to operate. Intraoperatively, the transverse colon was found to be thickened with omentum adherent focally around the distal third. A right hemicolectomy was performed with an end ileostomy and mucus fistula. The patient made a successful recovery and was discharged within 7 days of presenting. Pathology reported typical features of neutropenic enterocolitis affecting the transverse colon with a normal terminal ileum, caecum and ascending colon.

Fatal Neutropenic Enterocolitis during Pegylated Interferon and Ribavirin Combination Therapy for Chronic Hepatitis C Virus Infection

It is known that neutropenia caused by combination pegylated interferon plus ribavirin therapy for hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is well tolerated and carries a negligible risk of infection. Neutropenic enterocolitis is encountered most frequently in patients with hemato-oncologic diseases who are undergoing intensive chemotherapy. However, little information exists regarding this life-threatening event in the setting of HCV therapy. We present here an unusual case of fatal neutropenic enterocolitis in a cirrhotic patient receiving combination therapy for HCV infection. This is the first report of a death from neutropenic enterocolitis associated with treatment for chronic HCV infection. The present case suggests that caution should be exercised when continuing HCV therapy in neutropenic patients with advanced fibrosis, and the decision to maintain such therapy should be balanced against the potential for serious adverse events.