title: Right lower quadrant abdominal pain in an immunocompromised patient: importance for an urgent diagnosis and treatment.
abstract: This is a case of a 34 years old male Hispanic patient with history of AIDS who presented to the ER with severe right lower quadrant abdominal pain of three days of evolution, associated with fever, chills, nausea, vomiting, watery diarrhea, weakness and general malaise. Acute appendicitis, Clostridium Difficile Colitis and Ischemic Colitis were the most important clinical conditions to consider in the differential diagnosis. Abdominal CT with IV contrast demonstrated thickening of the ascending colonic wall a finding highly suggestive of a transmural inflammatory necrotizing colitis of infectious etiology. Broad-spectrum antibiotic therapy, cancidas and ganciclovir were started with mark clinical improvement. IgG antibodies against CMV were elevated. Typhlitis is a serious illness that affects patients with impairment in immunity. It is important to include it in the differential diagnosis of an HIV/AIDS patient that presents with RLQ pain and fever. Contrast enhanced CT-Scan is mandatory to establish the diagnosis and to differentiate typhlitis from other intra-abdominal pathologies. Therapy needs to be individualized.
authors.affiliation: Internal Medicine Program, Internal Medicine Department, San Juan City Hospital, San Juan, Puerto Rico.
authors.forename: Frances
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Hernández-Ocasio
authors.forename: Coromoto A
authors.initials: CA
authors.lastname: Palermo-Garófalo
authors.forename: Miguel
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Colón
authors.forename: María
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: de Lourdes Miranda
authors.forename: José H
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Martínez
mesh_terms: D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000209:etiology*; D000328:Adult; D004638:Emergency Treatment; D006801:Humans; D016867:Immunocompromised Host; D008297:Male; D053706:Typhlitis / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000188:drug therapy*