Protein-losing enteropathy in congestive heart failure: diagnosis by means of a simple method.
Protein-losing enteropathy is frequently overlooked in patients suffering from congestive heart failure. Although textbooks often quote heart failure as one of the causes of protein-losing enteropathy, this association has not been clearly documented in the literature. Furthermore, conventional diagnostic techniques for protein-losing enteropathy are both cumbersome and time-consuming. We report the first case of protein-losing enteropathy of a 79 year-old lady who suffered from dilated cardiomyopathy. The profound hypoalbuminemia could not be explained by urinary loss or impaired hepatic synthesis. Protein-losing enteropathy was confirmed by means of Technetium-99m- (99mTc) labelled human serum albumin scintigraphy which showed diffuse activity in the entire colon. The use of this simple and non-invasive diagnostic technique in protein-losing enteropathy is discussed.
Chan
F K
FK
Department of Medicine and Therapeutics, The Chinese University of Hong Kong. fklchan@cuhk.edu.hk
Sung
J J
JJ
Ma
K M
KM
Leung
Y L
YL
Yeung
V T
VT
D000368:Aged; D002311:Cardiomyopathy, Dilated / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D003106:Colon / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging; D005260:Female; D006333:Heart Failure / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D006801:Humans; D011504:Protein-Losing Enteropathies / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging*; D011877:Radionuclide Imaging; D012680:Sensitivity and Specificity; D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin
D013668:Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin