증례 : 장기간 스테로이드 및 Sulfasalazine 투여를 받아 온 아메바성 대장염 1예의 임상경과

Many of water-borne infectious diseases are under control nowadays because of the improvement of hygiene and sewage system, but some of them (e.g. amebic colitis) are still endemic in developing countries. Since there is no definite method of diagnosis, amebic colitis is often diagnosed too late or misdiagnosed as idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. There have been some reports that treatment with glucocorticoids or immuno-suppressive agents may lead to catastrophic result in amebic colitis. We experienced a 65-year-old man who showed somewhat different clinical consequences. He had longstanding hematochezia with lower abdominal pain, and was misdiagnosed as ulcerative colitis. Because his symptom continued over a year despite treatment with glucocorticoids and sulfasalazine, total colectomy was considered. However, the diagnosis of amebic colitis was made with repeated stool parasite examinations, colonoscopic biopsy and serologic tests. He showed dramatic improvement after the antiamebic therapy with metronidazole. (Kor J Gastroenterol 2000;35:398 - 403)