BILATERAL PNEUMOTHORAX AND ULCERATIVE-COL ITIS

Background. - Respiratory diseases associated with ulcerative colitis are rare. Case report. - A 14-year-old girl with ulcerative colitis wa s admitted for a left pneumothorax. She was given corticoidsteroids an d enemas of 5 aminosalicylic acid. The pneumothorax was not controlled by pleural drainage and a pleural irritation was performed under thor acoscopy. Recurrence of pneumothorax led to surgical pleurectomy. The following day, a right pneumothorax occurred, also requiring pleurecto my. The pulmonary biopsies showed constrictive bronchiolitis. A restri ctive syndrome was confirmed by functional pulmonary examinations. Tot al colectomy was performed nine months later for the ulcerative coliti s. Comments. - Ulcerative colitis can be associated with bronchial pat hology (bronchitis, bronchiectasis). Occurrence of pneumothorax has ne ver been described; it can be a fortuitous association, but the histol ogical features are not very different from those described in associa tion with ulcerative colitis. The treatment of pneumothorax is difficu lt if the ulcerative colitis requires corticosteroids.