• Critical care medicine · Jun 2017

    Case Reports

    Antibiotic-Associated Apoptotic Enterocolitis in the Absence of a Defined Pathogen: The Role of Intestinal Microbiota Depletion.

    • Philipp Wurm, Walter Spindelboeck, Robert Krause, Johannes Plank, Gottfried Fuchs, Mina Bashir, Wolfgang Petritsch, Bettina Halwachs, Cord Langner, Christoph Högenauer, and Gregor Gorkiewicz.
    • 1Institute of Pathology, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 2Theodor Escherich Laboratory for Medical Microbiome Research, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 3Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 4Section of Infectious Diseases and Tropical Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 5Department of Anesthesiology and Intensive Care Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 6Division of Endocrinology and Metabolism, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Graz, Graz, Austria. 7BioTechMed, Interuniversity Cooperation, Graz, Austria.
    • Crit. Care Med. 2017 Jun 1; 45 (6): e600-e606.

    ObjectiveAntibiotic therapy is a major risk factor for the development of diarrhea and colitis with varying severity. Often the origin of antibiotic-associated gastrointestinal deterioration remains elusive and no specific infectious agents could be discerned.PatientsWe represent three cases of intractable high-volume diarrhea associated with combined antibiotic and steroid therapy in critically ill patients not fitting into established disease entities. Cases presented with severe apoptotic enterocolitis resembling acute intestinal graft-versus-host-disease. Microbiologic workup precluded known enteropathogens, but microbiota analysis revealed a severely depleted gut microbiota with concomitant opportunistic pathogen overgrowth.InterventionsFecal microbiota transplantation, performed in one patient, was associated with correction of dysbiosis, rapid clinical improvement, and healing of enterocolitis.ConclusionsOur series represents a severe form of antibiotic-associated colitis in critically ill patients signified by microbiota depletion, and reestablishment of a physiologic gastrointestinal microbiota might be beneficial for this condition.

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