Case reports cover gastroenterology and hepatology

Several case reports involving gastroenterology and hepatology were published by Annals of Internal Medicine: Clinical Cases on July 2.

One case reported on a 59-year-old man with recurrent postprandial emesis, nausea, and abdominal pain who was found to have retrograde duodenal prolapse causing gastric outlet obstruction. Another case described a 61-year-old woman who presented with cirrhosis secondary to alcohol use disorder in remission complicated by esophageal varices, rectal varices, ascites, spontaneous bacterial peritonitis, and recurrent pleural effusion. She was eventually found to have hepatitis caused by acute infection with hepatitis C virus, an unusual case of acute-on-chronic liver failure leading to liver transplantation. Finally, a series of cases reported on recreational ketamine-induced cholangiopathy. Six young adults who used ketamine recreationally presented with progressive abdominal pain and cholestasis, sometimes with concomitant urinary symptoms and weight loss. In each case, there was marked biliary duct dilatation without evidence of obstruction, suggestive of sclerosing cholangitis.