Emphysematous pyelonephritis (EPN) is a gas-producing necrotizing bacterial infection that involves the renal parenchyma and perirenal tissue. It is a life-threatening condition that requires a high index of suspicion, an early diagnosis and an aggressive treatment. Rapid progression to septic shock may occur. We report, to the best of our knowledge, the first case of obstructive EPN caused by a giant fecaloma. The patient was successfully treated with percutaneous drainage and broad-spectrum antibiotics, in addition to fecaloma evacuation using fleet enemas and oral laxatives. This shows how fecal impaction, a common pathology in routine clinical practice, can cause some serious complications if left untreated, including extrinsic ureteral compression.

A 63-year-old woman presented with intestinal disorder, alternating between obstipation and diarrhoea. Sodium phosphate/diphosphate (Fleet®) was used in preparation for colonoscopy. Within 24 h the patient developed severe hyperphosphatemia and oliguric acute kidney failure with the need of renal replacement therapy. This case illustrates the rare event of phosphate nephropathy after colonoscopy.

Sodium phosphate enemas and laxatives are widely used for the treatment of constipation, even if a number of cases of significant toxicity due to alterations of the fluid and electrolyte equilibria (hypernatremia, hyperphosphatemia, and hypocalcemia) have been reported. We present the case of an 83-year-old man who died of fecal and chemical peritonitis secondary to an iatrogenic colon perforation (produced performing a Fleet enema through the patient's iliac colostomy) with peritoneal absorption of sodium phosphate. Environmental scanning electron microscopy coupled with an X-ray fluorescence energy dispersive spectrometry discovered multiple bright crystals formed of calcium, phosphorus, and oxygen in the brain, heart, lung, and kidney sections of the victim. The absence of these kinds of precipitates in two control samples chronically treated with Fleet enemas led us to assume that the deceased had adsorbed a great quantity of phosphorus ions from the peritoneal cavity with subsequent systemic dissemination and precipitation of calcium phosphate bindings.

In an attempt to improve patients' tolerance for colon cleaning, three bowel preparation regimens: 90-mL Fleet phosphosoda (FPS), 2-L electrolyte lavage solution plus 20 mg oral bisacodyl, and 4-L lavage, were compared for efficacy and safety. A total of 912 patients were prospectively nonrandomized into three study groups. In Group A, 304 patients were given 45-mL Fleet phosphosoda at 9 AM and 6 PM the day before colonoscopy. In Group B, 304 patients were given four tablets of 5 mg bisacodyl at 12 PM the day before colonoscopy followed by 2 L electrolyte lavage by mouth at 6:00 PM the evening before colonoscopy. In Group C, 304 patients were given 4 L electrolyte lavage at 6:00 PM the evening before colonoscopy. All patients were kept on a clear liquid diet the day before colonoscopy. The bowel cleanliness was accessed by one colonoscopist. One registered nurse accessed the ease of the patient. In Group A (FPS), every patient finished the 90-mL Fleet phosphosoda. Colon cleanliness was 95.1 per cent. In Group B (2 L), three patients (0.6%) could not finish the laxative. Colon cleanliness was 95.9 per cent. In Group C (4 L), 22 patients (7.3%) could not finish the laxative preparation. Colon cleanliness was 95.3 per cent. The study found these three regimens can achieve equally good results of bowel preparation; however, the small volume laxative (FPS) has been accepted favorably by patients.