Gold induced enterocolitis: case report and a review of the literature

The use of gold therapy in rheumatoid arthritis is not without risk. Although the better known side effects are bone marrow suppression and renal involvement, gold induced enterocolitis has been described. This paper reports a 59-year-old female recently treated with gold therapy for rheumatoid arthritis who developed bloody diarrhoea, toxic dilatation and perforation of her colon. The absence of features of inflammatory bowel disease or infection indicates gold as a possible causative agent. Pathogenesis, therapy and a review of the literature of gold induced enterocolitis are described.