Abstract
Buerger’s disease is a type of vasculitis that predominantly affects small to medium arteries and the veins of the upper and lower extremities. Intestinal vessels are rarely involved. This is a case report of a 38-year-old male, smoker, with known Buerger’s disease who was found to have ischemic colitis of the sigmoid colon on biopsy and inferior mesenteric artery occlusion on computed tomography (CT) angiography. Intestinal ischemia is a rare complication in Buerger’s disease. Patients may present with vague abdominal symptoms. Given the very low incidence of intestinal involvement, social history and clinical correlation are of chief importance for early detection. Smoking cessation is paramount, as it is the mainstay treatment of the underlying disease.
Highlights
Buerger’s disease, known as thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO), is a condition caused by nonatherosclerotic segmental inflammation of the small and medium arteries of the upper and lower extremities [1]
TAO with gastrointestinal complications has been rarely reported with an incidence of 2% and Kyeong Soo Lee et al have reported that a total of 29 cases have been reported so far in the literature [3]
We are going to discuss a case of a man with Buerger’s disease who presented with midepigastric abdominal pain and underwent colonoscopy and computed tomography (CT) angiography and was found to have ischemic colitis with inferior mesenteric artery occlusion
Summary
Buerger’s disease, known as thromboangiitis obliterans (TAO), is a condition caused by nonatherosclerotic segmental inflammation of the small and medium arteries of the upper and lower extremities [1]. We are going to discuss a case of a man with Buerger’s disease who presented with midepigastric abdominal pain and underwent colonoscopy and CT angiography and was found to have ischemic colitis with inferior mesenteric artery occlusion. A 38-year-old Caucasian male presented to the clinic for abdominal pain and rectal bleeding He was diagnosed with Buerger’s disease eight years ago and underwent a left below-knee amputation. He is a chronic tobacco user, polysubstance abuser, and has a seizure disorder He reported incidences of intermittent rectal bleeding for at least a week, with increasing frequency and 15-minute postprandial epigastric pain. He denied prior upper endoscopy and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) use. He was referred to vascular surgery, which he did not attend
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