Mesenteric phlebosclerosis with amyloidosis in association with the long-term use of medicinal liquor: A case report

BACKGROUND

Mesenteric phlebosclerosis (MP) is a rare disease of the colon. The clinical manifestations of this disease are nonspecific and it may easily be misdiagnosed. We report a case of MP with amyloidosis in the colonic vessel walls in a patient with hypertension who had been consuming Chinese medicinal liquor for 10 years. We also review the relevant literature and summarize the characteristics of MP in patients in mainland China.

CASE SUMMARY

A 64-year-old man was referred to our department from his primary hospital because of abdominal pain, diarrhea, and fever for almost 10 d. Computed tomography showed colon wall thickening, with threadlike calcifications in the mesenteric vein in the transverse colon. Colonoscopy revealed purple-blue mucosa with multiple ulcers in the ascending and transverse colon. Biopsy showed thickening and calcification of the vein walls, perivascular and mucosal collagen degeneration, and amyloidosis. The patient had been consuming Chinese medicinal liquor, mainly that made from gardenia fruit, for 10 years. Based on these results, a diagnosis of MP with amyloidosis was made. After conservative treatment, the patient’s discomfort subsided and he was followed closely. The use of Chinese herbal medicine was suspected to play a role in the pathogenesis of MP.

CONCLUSION

The clinical manifestations of MP are nonspecific. Recognition of its typical imaging findings, including multiple calcifications on computed tomography and purple-blue mucosal discoloration on colonoscopy, is vital.

[Evidential research on the source of term "wine"]

During Shang Dynasty, there appeared the wine(Chinese:, Jiuji), a clarified liquid preparation extracted from crude medicine with distilled liquor.The wine had many alternative names in history.In Yuan Dynasty, the connotation of "wine" was completely same as its modern meaning. It was as a specific term of drug types during the Republic of China. In Chinese Traditional Medicine and Materia Medica Subject Headings, the "wine" became a formal subject term. In Chinese Terms in Traditional Chinese Medicine and Pharmacy, "wine" was issued as a standardized name, which considered to be consistent, scientific and concise under scientific naming rules.