A Case of Repetitive Ischemic Colitis Induced by Pretreatment for Colonscopy

The patient was a 75-year-old woman, diagnosed with hyperlipidemia and hypertension. She was admitted to the hospital in January 2001 because of paralytic ileus accompanied with diverticulitis. Barium enema showed linear ulcers in the transverse colon in March of the same year. At colonoscopy there were active linear ulcers in splenic flexure in April and these findings were compatible with ischemic colitis. When colonoscopy was done in December, a new lesion was found in sigmoid colon. Repeated colonoscopy in January 2002, there were ischemic lesion along with bleeding and edema in the sigmoid colon, sodium picosulfate was included as pretreatment of all four of examination and after taking it she presented nausea and abdominal pain. The abdominal pain was agree with ischemic lesion in colon. The symptoms were brought about repeatedly for using sodium picosulfate and active ischemic coltis was confirmed by colonoscopy. In addition, colonoscopic pretreatment without sodium picosulfate did not result in any colonic ischemic lesion. It seems that sodium picosulfate caused illness.