Surgical lesions of the colon in the hemolytic uremic syndrome

Abstract

Hemolytic uremic syndrome (HUS) is characterized by hemolytic anemia, thrombocytopenia, and acute renal failure, usually in children under 10 years of age. Gastrointestinal symptoms, including abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea, frequently precede the onset of renal failure. It has not been generally appreciated that the intestinal disease process may proceed to frank ischemic lesions of the colon requiring surgical intervention. An illustrative patient is presented in whom total infarction of the descending colon occurred. The patient represents the fourth reported case of surgical colonic disease as a consequence of the hemolytic uremic syndrome.