Abstract

PRIETO-ORTIZ, Robin; REYES, Gustavo; CARVAJAL, Germán  and  FIGUEREDO, Edgar. Pulmonary cryptococcosis in a patient with ulcerative colitis treated with prednisolone and azathioprine. Rev. colomb. Gastroenterol. [online]. 2020, vol.35, n.4, pp.545-550.  Epub July 12, 2021. ISSN 0120-9957.  https://doi.org/10.22516/25007440.429.

Inflammatory bowel disease comprises Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), the latter being a chronic disease characterized by diffuse inflammation of the colonic mucosa that affects the rectum and extends proximally. Its clinical course is intermittent with exacerbations and remissions and its treatment is generally pharmacological, with steroids, immunomodulators, and anti-tumor necrosis factor inhibitors (TNF), which cause the patient to be in a state of immunosuppression associated, in some cases, with opportunistic infections. The literature describes the occurrence of pulmonary cryptococcosis in patients with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) infection, in cases associated with drug treatment of patients with CD, as well as with other opportunistic infections such as tuberculosis and herpes. This is one of the first cases of pulmonary cryptococcosis reported in a patient diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, who received step therapy with salicylates, immunomodulators, and biological therapy. The infection was documented clinically, radiologically, and histologically. The patient received the appropriate treatment and had a satisfactory evolution.

Keywords : Inflammatory bowel disease; Ulcerative colitis; Immunosuppression; Opportunistic infections; Pulmonary cryptococcosis.

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