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Editor's quiz: GI snapshot
Gallstone mimicry: a rare cause of abdominal pain
  1. Abhinav Singh1,
  2. Philip J Smith1,
  3. Ian M Cropley2,
  4. Katie L Planche3,
  5. Mark I Hamilton1,
  6. Charles D Murray1
  1. 1 Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK
  2. 2 Department of Infectious Diseases, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK
  3. 3 Department of Radiology, Royal Free Hospital, London, UK
  1. Correspondence to Dr Charles Murray, Department of Gastroenterology, Royal Free Hospital, London NW3 2QG, UK; charlesmurray1{at}nhs.net

https://doi.org/10.1136/gutjnl-2016-312706

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    A previously fit and well 43-year-old male triathlete presented with severe central abdominal pain persisting for several hours. Three similar episodes in the past 18 months had spontaneously resolved. Prior investigations with abdominal ultrasound, upper and lower GI endoscopies had been unremarkable. On this presentation, the patient also had worsening malaise and fever at 40°C. He was fluid resuscitated and commenced on broad-spectrum antibiotics (intravenous piperacillin–tazobactam 4.5 g and 350 mg gentamicin).

    Initial biochemistry revealed absolute eosinophil count 0.56×109/L, asparate aminotransferase serum 72 IU/L and alanine aminotransferase (ALT) 78 IU/L. The alkaline phosphatase 65 IU/L, bilirubin 10 μmol/L, white cell count 7.93×109/L and C-reactive protein 5 mg/L were all normal. CT abdomen (figure 1A) did not reveal gallstones nor any small bowel pathology. As the …

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    Footnotes

    • AS and PJS contributed equally.

    • Contributors AS and PJS prepared the manuscript and figures. KLP prepared the radiology images and reports. IMC and MIH initially managed the patient. CDM supervised the manuscript preparation. All authors approved the submitted manuscript.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Patient consent Obtained.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; internally peer reviewed.