A Case of Chemical Colitis Caused by Hydrogen Peroxide Enema

Chul Hyun Lim; Hwa Young Lee; Won Chul Kim; Soung Hoon Cho; Hee Sun Jeong; Yeon Joo Jeon; Jang Eun Lee; Sang Woo Kim

doi:10.4166/kjg.2011.58.2.100

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Lim, Lee, Kim, Cho, Jeong, Jeon, Lee, and Kim: A Case of Chemical Colitis Caused by Hydrogen Peroxide Enema

Case Report

Korean J Gastroenterol 2011;58(2):100-102.

Published online: 4 October 2011

DOI: https://doi.org/10.4166/kjg.2011.58.2.100

A Case of Chemical Colitis Caused by Hydrogen Peroxide Enema

Chul Hyun Lim, Hwa Young Lee, Won Chul Kim, Soung Hoon Cho, Hee Sun Jeong, Yeon Joo Jeon, Jang Eun Lee, Sang Woo Kim

Department of Internal Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea

Correspondence to: Sang Woo Kim, Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Seoul St. Mary's Hospital, The Catholic University of Korea College of Medicine, 505, Banpo-dong, Seocho-gu, Seoul 137-701, Korea. Tel: +82-2-2258-6021, Fax: +82-2-2258-2089, E-mail: viper@catholic.ac.kr

Received 30 March 201121 June 2011 Accepted 24 June 2011

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/3.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Abstract

Hydrogen peroxide is commonly used as a disinfectant that has been reported to cause chemical colitis. We report a case of 49 year-old man who presented with chemical colitis caused by self-inflicted hydrogen peroxide enema. In the sigmoidoscopic examination, diffuse erythematous and edematous mucosal change with multiple ulcerations and easy touch bleeding was noted from the rectum to the proximal sigmoid colon. Abdominal computed tomography showed diffuse wall thickening of the rectum and the sigmoid colon with inflammatory and reactive change at surrounding. The patient was treated with NPO, intravenous fluid, and antibiotic therapy. On 5th hospital day, abdominal pain and bloody stool disappeared, and the patient started oral feeding. He discharged on 6th hospital day with fully recovered state.

Keywords: Hydrogen peroxide, Colitis

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Fig. 1.

Sigmoidoscopic findings. Diffuse erythematous and edematous mucosal change with multiple ulcerations and easy touch bleeding was noted from the rectum (A) to the proximal sigmoid colon (B, C). Mucosal pattern of the descending colon was normal (D).

Fig. 2.

Abdominal CT scan findings. Abdominal CT showed diffuse wall thickening of the rectum and the sigmoid colon with inflammatory and reactive change at surrounding in cross-sectional view (A) and coronal view (B).

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