Unexplained fever in a young man with Crohn's disease: a case report and review of literature. Issue 1 (2nd January 2021)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Deroo, L.; Elewaut, A.; Van Moerkercke, W.
• Is Part Of: Acta clinica belgica. Volume 76:Issue 1(2021)
• Page Start: 60
• Page End: 64
• Publication Date: 2021-01-02
• Subjects: Thromboembolism -- Crohn's disease -- inflammatory bowel disease -- pulmonary embolism -- thromboprophylaxis; Clinical medicine -- Periodicals; Diagnosis, Laboratory -- Periodicals; 616.005
• DOI: 10.1080/17843286.2019.1646515
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1784-3286

Abstract

ABSTRACT: A 23-year-old man with a known history of Crohn's disease (CD), who underwent an ileocaecal resection for localized disease activity three months ago, suffered from persistent fever with chills since 10 days. Despite the empirical antibiotic therapy that was started, his fever remained. A computed tomography (CT) angiography of the thorax and abdomen revealed a thrombosis of the iliacal veins bilateral and a pulmonary embolism (PE) in the right lower lobe with adjacent infiltrate. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) can be a life-threatening extraintestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The risk that IBD patients develop a VTE is three times higher in comparison with healthy controls. They have a higher risk of recurrence and a higher mortality ratio. The pathogenesis of VTE in IBD is complex and until now not fully understood. More awareness should be raised, given the fact that it can be prevented by appropriate thromboprophylaxis.