Colchicine is an alkaloid drug used in multiple medical conditions. It has a narrow therapeutic index, and gastrointestinal symptoms can occur at the beginning or after long-term therapy. Unintentional toxicity is common and has a high mortality rate when missed. Histopathologic recognition is challenging, and timely identification is conducted to improve patients' outcomes. We describe the case of a 77-year-old female who presented to the emergency room for dehydration, longstanding diarrhea, and weight loss. Upper and lower endoscopies showed erythematous mucosa without bleeding in the gastric antrum and an unremarkable duodenum and colon. Duodenal biopsies demonstrated partial villous atrophy with elongated glands and numerous arrested ring mitoses, consistent with colchicine toxicity.
Keywords: chronic diarrhea; colchicine poisoning; colchicine toxicity; ring mitoses; weight loss.
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