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Published on: January 5, 2017
Protein-losing enteropathy in ulcerative colitis
Ryan Ungaro1, Mark W Babyatsky, Hongfa Zhu
1Department of Internal Medicine, The Mount Sinai School of Medicine, New York, N.Y., USA.
Abstract:
Protein-losing enteropathy (PLE) is a debilitating potential complication of ulcerative colitis (UC). We report a case of PLE in a 26-year-old male patient with UC. The patient lost 50 pounds in the setting of a UC flare and was found to have an albumin level of 1.2 g/dl. Although the patient's UC was clinically controlled with steroids, the weight loss and hypoalbuminemia persisted with the patient's course complicated by development of deep vein thrombosis and pulmonary embolism. The diagnosis of PLE was confirmed with measurement of stool alpha-1-antitrypsin clearance. The patient's condition significantly improved following procto-colectomy.
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