Case 35-1991: A 59-Year-Old Man with Abdominal Pain, Microscopic Hematuria, and a Jejunal Abnormality Shown on a CT Scan

Presentation of Case A 59-year-old man was admitted to the hospital because of abdominal pain, constipation, and microscopic hematuria. The patient was in stable health until five or six days earlier, when constipation, abdominal pain, and anorexia developed. Four days before admission he took a cathartic that contained phenolphthalein, and the upper abdominal pain became almost continuous. On the next day he passed a stool that appeared normal. The pain shifted to the left lower part of the abdomen and increased in severity. Two days before admission the patient came to this hospital. On physical examination the temperature was 36.7°C.