A Case of Fulminating Amoebiasis

Abstract

Summary A fatal case of fulminating amoebiasis which was erroneously diagnosed and treated as ulcerative colitis until too late is described. The importance of being aware of the fact that amoebic dysentery is endemic in Australia is stressed. It follows then that in all cases presenting as ulcerative colitis, examination of warm stools for Enta‐noebae histolyticae should be performed. It is sometimes possible to make a diagnosis of amoebic colitis from histological examination of a rectal or sigmoid biopsy. Entamoebae should be looked for not only in the bowel mucosa or submucosa but also, in any surface exudate that may be present. The course of this man's illness was extremely short and was complicated by thrombocytopaenia, profuse haemorrhage from the colon and the development of hepatic abscess, miliary pulmonary abscesses and multiple brain abscesses.

Colitis caused by Entamoeba histolytica identified by real-time-PCR and fluorescence in situ hybridization from formalin-fixed, paraffin-embedded tissue

“…histolytica, an infectious agent that causes bloody diarrhoea and liver abscess, is world-widely distributed in the tropics [1] but most frequently imported from the Americas and South-Central Asia [7]. Unfortunately, the symptoms are often non-specific [52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59][60][61] and can mislead to false diagnoses like chronic inflammatory disease or, as described above, NSAID-associated colitis. Radiographic patterns can considerably vary as well [62,63].…”