Angioneurotic Edema and Deficiency of C′1 Esterase Inhibitor in a 61-Year-Old Woman
- SIGURDUR E. THORVALDSSON, M.D.;
- RICHARD E. SEDLACK, M.D.;
- GERALD J. GLEICH, M.D.; and
- SHAUN J. RUDDY, M.D.
- Requests for reprints should be addressed to Gerald J. Gleich, M.D., Mayo Clinic, 200 First St. N.W., Rochester, Minn. 55901
SUMMARY
Angioneurotic edema and symptoms of intestinal obstruction developed in a woman when she was 58 years old. Surgical exploration during an attack of abdominal pain showed a segment of jejunum that was edematous and thickened and had a narrowed lumen. Analysis of the patient's serum showed a reduction in C′4 activity and a marked deficiency of C′1 esterase inhibitor, the biochemical hallmarks of hereditary angioneurotic edema. There was no family history of angioneurotic edema. The patient later died from an attack of laryngeal edema. This case illustrates the need for analysis of serum for this deficiency in elderly patients with angioneurotic edema and abdominal pain even though the family history is negative.
Article and Author Information
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From the Mayo Clinic and Mayo Foundation, Sections of Medicine and of Medicine and Microbiology; and the Mayo Graduate School of Medicine (University of Minnesota); Rochester, Minn.; and the Robert B. Brigham Hospital and the Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass.
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- Received March 17, 1969.
- Accepted March 21, 1969.
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