[Occult gastrointestinal bleeding due to a Dieulafoy lesion in the terminal ileum]

Ned Tijdschr Geneeskd. 2006 Aug 12;150(32):1776-9.
[Article in Dutch]

Abstract

A 50-year-old man awaiting liver transplantation for primary sclerosing cholangitis developed iron-deficiency anaemia. Repeated occult gastrointestinal bleeding led to an increasing need for blood transfusions. After multiple oesophagogastroduodenoscopies and colonoscopies, videocapsule endoscopy finally demonstrated a polyp-like lesion in the terminal ileum. The lesion had not been detected despite two attempts (oral and anal) at double-balloon enteroscopy and even a peroperative enteroscopy. Only during a second laparotomy, again involving peroperative enteroscopy, a small red lesion was detected and resected 80 cm proximal to the ileocecal valve (Bauhin's valve). Histology revealed a Dieulafoy lesion. Four months later, after normalisation and stabilisation of his haemoglobin level, the patient received a successful liver transplant. If the cause of occult gastrointestinal bleeding in a patient remains unclear despite regular endoscopic procedures, new techniques like videocapsule endoscopy and double-balloon enteroscopy may contribute to identifying the cause. This may lead to an exceptional finding such as a Dieulafoy lesion in the distal ileum.

Publication types

  • Case Reports
  • English Abstract

MeSH terms

  • Anemia, Iron-Deficiency / etiology
  • Diagnosis, Differential
  • Endoscopes, Gastrointestinal*
  • Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal / methods*
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / complications
  • Gastrointestinal Hemorrhage / diagnosis*
  • Humans
  • Ileum / pathology*
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Video Recording