Bloody Mucus in Stool

Question: We’re struggling with bloody mucus in stool that our son’s pediatrician (with agreement from Pediatric Allergist and Pediatric GI) was CMPA (I’ve gone dairy-free for breastfeeding and pumping purposes, bloody mucus persists). GI did blood work and an abdominal ultrasound (labs were good, and gallstones were found). We are also trying a new elemental formula per GI suggestion (Neocate; we were previously on EleCare). However, gallstones and a clear scan do not otherwise explain the bleeding, so we are waiting to hear the next steps. As such, I decided to reach out to you all to see if the foundation has observed a correlation between children with CdLS and gallstones, as well as any indicators of the onset of bloody stools. Ultrasound apparently didn’t show anything other than stones.

Answer: Regarding the stools, as long as growth has been reassuring, I agree with the CMPA diagnosis. Those who do well in about 2 months could try introducing a less broken-down formula, such as Alimentum or Nutramigen. As far as the gallstones are concerned, nothing specific to CdLS, I believe. Often, we will see some stones in premature infants that improve over time or have been treated with ursodiol. I think we have had some with PFIC3 with gallstones when young, but typically not urgent or very dangerous. Sounds like the team is on the right path to me.

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