A case of eosinophilic gastroenteritis with diffuse small bowel edema and ascites / 대한내과학회지

ABSTRACT

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an uncommon disorder of stomach, small bowel and colon characterized by peripheral blood eosinophilia, eosinophilic infiltration of the gut wall, and variable clinical symptoms. This disease was first described by Kaijser in 1937, and its cause was poorly understood. It may be related to allergy, which combines allergic rhinitis, allergic asthma, atopic dermatitis, food allergy and elevated IgE. The clinical symptoms and signs are variable according to the extents and depths of the eosinophilic infiltration. Endoscopic findings may show normal, nodular, ulcerative, or hemorrhagic mucosal changes, and biopsy findings reveal eosinophilic infiltration of mucosal and muscular layer. We diagnosed and treated a case of diffuse serosal eosinophilic gastroenteritis associated with ascites in a patient with allergic asthma who had severe abdominal pain, distention and watery diarrhea, and she dramatically responded to corticosteroid therapy.