[Perimyocarditis as a complication of a multiple drug therapy in the treatment of a severe ulcerative colitis episode]
Abstract
HISTORY AND CLINICAL FINDINGS: A 19-year-old patient presented as an inpatient with an acute flare-up of ulcerative colitis for about six weeks and symptom progression for one and a half weeks. The patient was treated with topical and oral 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) preparations and oral prednisolone. With an intensification of the prednisolone dose, administration of a monoclonal antibody (Vedolizumab) and antibiotic therapy, inpatient discharge against medical advice. Oral administration of ciprofloxacin due to continued elevated infection parameters. The 5-ASA administration was continued. In the following two weeks, recurrent episodes of fever and renewed inpatient admission. INVESTIGATIONS AND DIAGNOSIS: Microbiological detection of Acinetobacter ursingii in blood cultures. Echocardiographic evidence of pericardial effusion. Transesophageal echocardiography revealed no evidence of infective endocarditis. Serological evidence of elevated cardiac enzyme levels. An MRI scan of the heart confirmed the diagnosis of perimyocarditis. TREATMENT AND COURSE: Intensive medical care and resistogram-based antibiotic therapy with meropenem, stopping the topical and oral 5-ASA doses and not continuing the integrin antagonist therapy. In addition, start of guideline-based cardiac insufficiency therapy and change of therapy to a tumor necrosis factor alpha blocker. Under the accelerated application scheme, stabilization and improvement of the general condition protracted. After two months of hospitalization, the patient was discharged to outpatient care. DISCUSSION: Perimyocarditis may occur after long-term administration of 5-ASA. The integrin antagonist as a new therapy can also be a causal factor. Therapeutic management when the cause of the complaint is unclear depends on the symptoms and the most likely cause of the disease. If there is no response to therapy, carry out early re-evaluations.