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World J Gastrointest Surg. Jul 27, 2014; 6(7): 142-145
Published online Jul 27, 2014. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v6.i7.142
Published online Jul 27, 2014. doi: 10.4240/wjgs.v6.i7.142
Isotretinoin and ulcerative colitis: A case report and review of the literature
Ioannis Papaconstantinou, Anastasios Stefanopoulos, Aspasia Papailia, Ioannis Georgopoulos, Second Department of Surgery, Aretaieion Hospital, Athens 11528, Greece
Christos Zeglinas, Department of Gastroenterology, Tzaneio General Hospital, Piraeus 18536, Greece
Spyridon Michopoulos, Department of Gastrenterology, General Hospital of Athens “Aleksandra”, Athens 11528, Greece
Author contributions: Papaconstantinou I, Stefanopoulos A, Papailia A, Zeglinas C, Georgopoulos I and Michopoulos S designed research; Papaconstantinou I, Stefanopoulos A, Papailia A and Georgopoulos I performed research; Papaconstantinou I, Stefanopoulos A, Papailia A and Zeglinas C analyzed data and wrote the paper.
Correspondence to: Ioannis Georgopoulos, General Surgeon, Second Department of Surgery, Aretaieion Hospital, Vas. Sofias Ave. 76, Athens 11528, Greece. georgopoulos.ioannis@yahoo.gr
Telephone: +30-210-7286193 Fax: +30-210-7286128
Received: May 2, 2014
Revised: May 31, 2014
Accepted: June 27, 2014
Published online: July 27, 2014
Processing time: 84 Days and 15.2 Hours
Revised: May 31, 2014
Accepted: June 27, 2014
Published online: July 27, 2014
Processing time: 84 Days and 15.2 Hours
Core Tip
Core tip: Case reports suggest that isotretinoin administration may trigger inflammatory bowel diseases. This hypothesis has raised great scientific interest and numerous propositions addressing the pathophysiology of this potent association have been made. However, demographic data do not support a correlation between isotretinoin and inflammatory bowel disease. The current case describes a patient who developed ulcerative colitis while on isotretinoin administration. We hope that this case report may contribute to future epidemiological studies with scope to clarify the association between isotretinoin and inflammatory bowel diseases and more specifically ulcerative colitis.