CLINICAL INFORMATION

An 87-year-old white male had a past medical history of coronary artery disease, congestive heart failure, peripheral vascular disease, prostate cancer, healthcare-associated pneumonia, and chronic renal insufficiency. He had been treated for C. diff colitis for the last one month.  He was admitted with severe chest pain and abdominal pain two days back.  On examination, he was found to have an elevated white count, which went up to 30,000 today.  A C. diff scan confirmed C. diff colitis with thickened band colitis.

GROSS DESCRIPTION

The specimen consists of a resected colon measures 180 cm long and 8.0 to 19.0 cm in diameter. The entire colon is significantly distended and the lumen is entirely covered by yellow and golden yellow exudates.  The colonic wall is significantly edematous measuring up to 0.7 cm in thickness. 

HE, 2×

HE, 4×

HE, 10×

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Source: Department of Pathology, Creighton University Medical Center, Omaha, NE

Photo: Zenggang Pan

Discussion: Zenggang Pan