De novo inflammatory bowel disease after pediatric orthotopic liver transplant: a case report

The improvement of pre-existing inflammatory bowel disease after orthotopic liver transplant might be anticipated. However, both the exacerbation of inflammatory bowel disease and de novo inflammatory bowel disease after orthotopic liver transplant (despite sufficient allograft immunosuppressive therapy) have been described.

We present a case of ulcerative colitis in a pediatric liver transplant recipient.

A 13-year-old boy with cryptogenic liver cirrhosis received an orthotopic liver transplant from a deceased donor. Five months later, he presented with watery diarrhea and abdominal distention. He was treated with the immunosuppressive agents tacrolimus (0.15 mg/kg/d) and mycophenolate mofetil (20 mg/kg/d). A general physical examination revealed a boy with stable vital signs and without fever. The only positive finding was enlargement of the abdomen without tenderness. Many pus cells and a few red blood cells were detected in the patient's stool, but the results of a stool culture for bacteria were negative. Because of his chronic diarrhea, this patient underwent colonoscopy, which revealed diffuse erythematous mucosa, multiple ulcers, exudate, and pseudopolyps with a diffuse loss of vascularity. Those findings are indicators of colitis. The results of histopathologic examination of the colonic mucosa suggested ulcerative colitis. The patient was treated with mesalamine and prednisolone, and a repeat colonoscopy revealed an improvement in his bowel disease.

De novo inflammatory bowel disease should be considered in patients in whom chronic diarrhea develops after an orthotopic liver transplant. We suggest that colonoscopy and biopsy should always be performed if other causes of diarrhea have been excluded.