Case report: Antibiotic-associated haemorrhagic colitis

Antibiotic-associated haemorrhagic colitis is an uncommon cause of bloody d iarrhoea in patients taking penicillin or penicillin-related antibiotics. S ymptoms of abdominal pain and bloody diarrhoea occur within 1 week of antib iotic use and resolve without specific therapy within days of discontinuing the offending antibiotic. There is an apparent increased incidence of the disease in patients of Oriental ethnicity. The pathogenesis is unknown. We present two cases of haemorrhagic colitis in patients taking penicillin-rel ated antibiotics who presented within 4 months of each other. One of the pa tients was being treated for Helicobacter pylori infection. The published l iterature is reviewed with particular emphasis on the histology and pathoge nesis of the condition.