Megacólon tóxico fatal por cytomegalovirus em paciente com retocolite ulcerativa idiopática: relato de caso e revisão de literatura Fatal toxic megacolon due to cytomegalovirosis in a patient with ulcerative colitis: case report and review

Racional - O megacólon tóxico é complicação grave e pouco freqüente na retocolite ulcerativa idiopática. Ocorre, geralmente, em pacientes cuja doença ativa é resistente ao tratamento clínico e, em algumas situações, o fator desencadeante é desconhecido. A infecção pelo cytomelogalovirus em seres humanos em geral é evento subclínico; entretanto, em pacientes imunocomprometidos a primoinfecção ou mesmo a reativação de infecção latente pode ter amplas repercussões clínicas, uma das quais o desencadeamento de megacólon tóxico. Objetivo - Descrever um caso de megacólon tóxico fatal por cytomegalovirose em paciente com retocolite ulcerativa idiopática. Paciente - Masculino, 38 anos, com clínica de diarréia e perda ponderal cuja investigação mostrou tratar-se de retocolite ulcerativa idiopática e para a qual foi instituída terapêutica imunossupressora vigorosa. Resultados - Evoluiu com quadro clínico de megacólon tóxico, sendo submetido a colectomia total. Complicações clínicas culminaram no óbito pós-operatório e o estudo anatomopatológico do cólon revelou doença ativa, associada a ulcerações confluentes na base das quais foram observadas células com alterações características da cytomegalovirose. Conclusão - A cytomegalovirose deve ser considerada como um dos agentes causadores de megacólon tóxico em retocolite ulcerativa.<br>Background - The toxic megacolon is a rare and severe complication of ulcerative colitis. In general it complicates patients with active colitis that are resistant to clinical treatment and, in some cases, the developing factor is unknown. Cytomegalovirus infection in humans in general is a subclinical condition. However, in patients with immunodeficiency the primary infection or the reactivation of latent infection could have enormous clinical effects. One of these effects is the toxic megacolon. Aim - To report a case of fatal toxic megacólon due to cytomegalovirosis in a patient with ulcerative colitis. Patient - A male patient, 38 years old, with complaints of diarrhea and weight loss. The diagnosis of ulcerative colitis was made and a vigorous immunossupressive therapy was performed. Results - Due to the evolution to a toxic megacolon the patient was submitted to colectomy. In the post-operatory period there were severe clinical complications and the patient died. The pathological study of the colon revealed active ulcerative colitis, associated with confluent ulcerations and numerous cells with cytomegalic nuclear inclusions. Conclusion - The cytomegalovirosis must be considered as one of the causal agent of toxic megacolon in ulcerative colitis

Revisiting the forward-spot relation: An application of the nonparametric long-run correlation coefficient

This study revisits the statistical relationship between the spot and the forward rate. Unlike previous studies, this association is measured by the estimation of the long-run correlation coefficient, a non-parametric measure of linear association. This estimator was shown to be equivalent to the Bartlett kernel spectral estimator of the complex coherency at frequency zero. This statistic allows for the measurement of the intensity of correlation. Using data for the £/DM over the May 1992 British General Election and September 1992 ERM devaluation, and for the FF/DM, BEF/DM, AT/DM, and NLG/DM up to the introduction of Euro, the results show that the predictive ability of the forward rate increased. © 2010 Springer Science+Business Media, LLC