Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis: Using Presenting Findings to Predict Disease Course.

INTRODUCTION: Studies on eosinophilic gastroenteritis have identified broad spectrums of disease. We aimed to characterize subtypes of disease and ascertain outcomes of each group. METHODS: This is a retrospective cohort study from a large tertiary medical center including 35 patients diagnosed with eosinophilic gastroenteritis from 2007 to 2018. We defined 2 groups of patients based on clinical and laboratory findings at presentation. Severe disease was defined as having weight loss at time of presentation, hypoalbuminemia at presentation, serosal disease involvement, or anemia at diagnosis. The remaining patients were labeled as mild disease group. We collected and compared demographic data, clinical features, laboratory findings, an allergy history, and disease course of both cohorts. RESULTS: Among 35 patients with eosinophilic gastroenteritis, 18 patients met the criteria for severe disease and 17 patients for mild disease. Of the patients with severe eosinophilic gastroenteritis, 6 (38%) had remission without chronic symptoms, whereas 10 (63%) had chronic symptoms requiring chronic medical therapy. Of the mild group, 12 patients (80%) had disease remission without chronic medications. An allergy history was more common in the severe disease group (83%) compared with the mild disease group (45%). Prednisone and open capsule budesonide were the most commonly used treatment medications in both groups. DISCUSSION: Patients with eosinophilic gastroenteritis may be characterized into 2 forms. Patients with weight loss at time of presentation, hypoalbuminemia at presentation, serosal disease involvement, or anemia at diagnosis were associated with a chronic disease course requiring chronic medications.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis and other eosinophilic gut diseases distal to the oesophagus.

Under normal physiological conditions, eosinophils are present throughout the gastrointestinal tract distal to the squamous oesophagus. Increases in their numbers signify primary and secondary eosinophilic conditions. The rare primary eosinophilic diseases eosinophilic gastroenteritis and eosinophilic colitis affect fewer than ten in 100 000 people, and are characterised by numerous mucosal eosinophils, distributed in sheets and sometimes extending from the mucosa into the submucosa. Pathogenesis of these diseases is poorly understood, but food allergies and intestinal dysbiosis have been implicated. Presentation ranges from vague abdominal symptoms and systemic complaints to, rarely, an acute abdomen with intestinal obstruction. Diagnosis is made from mucosal biopsy samples taken at endoscopy or from surgically resected specimens that demonstrate substantially increased numbers of eosinophils. Eosinophilia secondary to other conditions, such as pathogenic infections, must be excluded. Subtle eosinophilia has also been identified in the duodenum in functional dyspepsia and in the colon in spirochaetosis. Treatment of eosinophilic gastroenteritis and eosinophilic colitis is based on evidence from case reports and small case series, and first-line therapy includes empirical food-elimination diets and single courses of steroids, whereas relapsing or refractory disease might respond to steroid-sparing immunosuppressive agents and biological agents. The progression of disease in eosinophilic gastroenteritis and eosinophilic colitis is variable: a considerable number of patients have just one episode without relapse, whereas others have relapsing-remitting or chronic disease. Primary and secondary eosinophilia in the gastrointestinal tract is increasingly recognised as a clinical conundrum waiting to be solved.

Collagenous Enteritis is Unlikely a Form of Aggressive Celiac Disease Despite Sharing HLA-DQ2/DQ8 Genotypes.

Collagenous enteritis is an uncommon small intestinal injury pattern with unclear pathogenesis. While it has been speculated that collagenous enteritis represents a form of refractory celiac disease, recent clinical studies suggest a potential link to exposure to the antihypertensive medication olmesartan. Here we hypothesized that the pathogenesis of collagenous enteritis involves both genetic and environmental factors. All subjects with biopsy-proven collagenous enteritis diagnosed between 2002 and 2015 were identified from 2 tertiary care medical centers. Human leukocyte antigen (HLA)-DQ genotyping was performed by polymerase chain reaction on archived tissue. Celiac disease serology, past medical history, medications, smoking history, demographics, histology, clinical management, and follow-up were recorded. A total of 32 subjects were included. In contrast to celiac disease, subjects with collagenous enteritis were mostly elderly (median age at diagnosis, 69 y; range, 33 to 84 y). Seventy percent of collagenous enteritis subjects harbored celiac disease susceptibility alleles HLA-DQ2/DQ8; however, only 1 subject had elevated serum levels of celiac disease-associated autoantibodies while on a gluten-containing diet. Furthermore, 56% of subjects were taking nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, 36% proton-pump inhibitors, 28% statins, and 32% olmesartan at the time of diagnosis. Discontinuation of olmesartan and treatments with steroids and/or gluten-free diet resulted in symptomatic and histologic improvement. Neither lymphoma nor collagenous enteritis-related death was seen in this cohort. Therefore, while collagenous enteritis shares similar HLA genotypes with celiac disease, the difference in demographics, the lack of celiac disease-associated autoantibodies, and potential link to medications as environmental triggers suggest the 2 entities are likely distinct in pathogenesis.

Classification of eosinophilic disorders of the small and large intestine.

Eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases (EGIDs), including eosinophilic gastroenteritis and eosinophilic colitis, have been increasing in prevalence in Western countries in recent years. Eosinophils are normally scanty in the gastrointestinal tract, and increased numbers of eosinophils can denote pathology. Normal values for tissue eosinophils vary widely between different segments of the colon, thus location of the biopsy is critically important for the interpretation of findings. However, no standard diagnostic criteria have been proposed for the diagnosis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis or eosinophilic colitis. Gut eosinophilia encompasses entitites that are predominantly immunoglobulin E (IgE)-mediated, the primary EGIDs and those that are secondary and not IgE-mediated. A final diagnosis of eosinophilic gastrointestinal diseases requires careful pathological assessment, clinical correlation and exclusion of several differential diagnoses.

Microscopic enteritis: Bucharest consensus.

Microscopic enteritis (ME) is an inflammatory condition of the small bowel that leads to gastrointestinal symptoms, nutrient and micronutrient deficiency. It is characterised by microscopic or sub-microscopic abnormalities such as microvillus changes and enterocytic alterations in the absence of definite macroscopic changes using standard modern endoscopy. This work recognises a need to characterize disorders with microscopic and submicroscopic features, currently regarded as functional or non-specific entities, to obtain further understanding of their clinical relevance. The consensus working party reviewed statements about the aetiology, diagnosis and symptoms associated with ME and proposes an algorithm for its investigation and treatment. Following the 5(th) International Course in Digestive Pathology in Bucharest in November 2012, an international group of 21 interested pathologists and gastroenterologists formed a working party with a view to formulating a consensus statement on ME. A five-step agreement scale (from strong agreement to strong disagreement) was used to score 21 statements, independently. There was strong agreement on all statements about ME histology (95%-100%). Statements concerning diagnosis achieved 85% to 100% agreement. A statement on the management of ME elicited agreement from the lowest rate (60%) up to 100%. The remaining two categories showed general agreement between experts on clinical presentation (75%-95%) and pathogenesis (80%-90%) of ME. There was strong agreement on the histological definition of ME. Weaker agreement on management indicates a need for further investigations, better definitions and clinical trials to produce quality guidelines for management. This ME consensus is a step toward greater recognition of a significant entity affecting symptomatic patients previously labelled as non-specific or functional enteropathy.

Expression of selectins and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 in dogs with lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis.

Lymphocytic-plasmacytic enteritis (LPE) is the most common form of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affecting the canine small intestine; however, the molecular pathogenesis of this disease remains unclear. Although selectins and their ligands play a critical role as cell adhesion molecules during inflammation, there is very little information about their involvement in canine LPE. The aim of this study was to evaluate transcript expression of selectins (E-, L-, and P- selectin) and P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1) in the duodenal mucosa of 21 dogs with LPE and 10 healthy laboratory beagles. Duodenal expression of E-selectin, L-selectin, P-selectin, and PSGL-1 was quantified by real-time reverse-transcription PCR. Correlations between clinical severity, histopathological grade, selectins, and PSGL-1 were analyzed by Spearman's rank test. Transcript expression of duodenal E- and P-selectins and PSGL-1 was higher in dogs with LPE than in healthy laboratory beagles; however, there was no difference in L-selectin expression. Positive correlations between E- and L-selectin and between L- and P-selectin were observed in the duodenum of LPE dogs. The selectins and ligand may recruit circulating inflammatory cells into the lesion. These findings improve our understanding of the inflammatory cascade of canine LPE.

Mucosal-type eosinophilic gastroenteritis in Thailand: 12-year retrospective study.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the clinical features and natural course of disease among patients with mucosal-type eosinophilic gastroenteritis in Thailand. MATERIAL AND METHOD: The present study was conducted by retrospectively searching for the ICD-10 code for eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) among medical records for the period 2001-2012. Clinical and pathological specimens were reviewed using the same diagnostic criteria. Appropriate tests were conducted to exclude other secondary causes of EGE. All patients had to have either received empirical treatment for parasitic infections or were tested for parasites in the stool. After the diagnosis had been established, each patient received 30-40 mg/day of oral prednisoloneforfour weeks, which was tapered down as clinical status improved. All patients were followed up by monitoring clinical symptoms and relevant laboratory findings. Patients who did not maintain follow-up appointments were contacted by telephone and asked about their clinical symptoms. RESULTS: Seventeen patients with a diagnosis of mucosal-type E (6 male, 11 female, M:F ratio 1:1.83) were found. Mean age at the time of presentation was 52.5 +/- 13.04 years. Four patients (23.5%) had either allergic or atopic conditions. Chronic diarrhea and weight loss were the most common initial presentation in 16 patients (94.1%). Microscopically and macroscopically, bloody diarrhea was observed in 13 cases (76.5%). Four patients were found to have protein-losing enteropathy. Peripheral eosinophilia was found in 10 patients (58.8%) with absolute eosinophil counts between 744 and 23,550 cells/mm3. Eight of these had an absolute eosinophil count in the hypereosinophilic range (> 1,500 cells/mm3). All patients treated with prednisolone treatment showed symptomatic improvement within four weeks. One patient's symptom resolved spontaneously, without treatment. Thirteen patients relapsed during the tapering-off of prednisolone. Seven patients showed complete remission. Three patients subsequently developed cancer (lung, breast, and bladder) after EGE was diagnosed. CONCLUSION: EGE, although uncommon, is present in Thailand, where parasitic infections continue to be a significant public-health problem.

Long-term clinical behavior of jejunoileal involvement in Crohn's disease.

Diffuse and extensive jejunoileal Crohn's disease is an uncommon entity. In 39 patients, including 21 males and 18 females, followed for a mean duration of over 16 years between 1979 and 2004, the extent of disease was defined and disease behaviour characterized. Over 80% of patients had concomitant colonic and/or gastroduodenal involvement with Crohn's disease, suggesting that this entity may represent a specific clinical phenotype of extensive disease localization. Classification of Crohn's disease behaviour using the Vienna classification schema revealed that virtually all patients in this study suffered from intestinal stricture formation or penetrating disease complications. Moreover, pharmacological therapies with corticosteroids and immunosuppressant drugs were rarely successful, with virtually all patients requiring at least one, and usually multiple, intestinal resections. Finally, most patients required long-term nutritional support, often with home parenteral nutrition. New treatments are required, possibly defined on the basis of their effectiveness in reducing the severity and extent of intestinal disease, rather than more conventional statistically driven reductions in disease activity indexes.

Mycophenolate mofetil increases cytomegalovirus invasive organ disease in renal transplant patients.

The impact of cytomegalovirus (CMV) infection post-transplantation is in part influenced by the degree of immunosuppression. While mycophenolate mofetil (MMF) does not increase the overall incidence of CMV infection, we have questioned whether or not it increases its severity. Using a case control study design in which 29 renal transplant patients developed CMV disease [17 (59%) of which received azathioprine (AZA) and 12 (41%) received MMF], increases in the frequency of organ involvement with CMV (58 vs. 18%; p = 0.03) and in the number of organs involved with CMV were noted in the MMF versus the AZA group (2.0 vs. 1.0; p = 0.015). These results indicate that the increased immunosuppressive activity of MMF impacts the morbidity of CMV infection, thus warranting the use of effective anti-CMV preventive regimens while patients are treated with MMF.

Morphopathologic changes of enteropathies in 161 children's intestinal endobiopsies.

The authors examined microscopically 161 jejunal biopsies of which 142 presented a pathologic mucosa. The two sexes were equally represented and the prevalent age was between 1 and 2 years. Nearly one third of the cases were acute enteritides and the remaining ones--granulative and atrophic enteritides; none of them was hypertrophic. The causes of these enteropathies are various.

Chronic nonspecific duodenitis (bulbitis).

"Bulbitis" was classified by fiberoptic endoscopy in: superficial, erosive and pseudopolypoid. Endoscopic diagnosis of "bulbitis" is reliable, as good agreement was obtained in 100 cases tabulated according to histological grading. Erosive "bulbitis" implies a severe histopathological compromise.

[Classification of acute bacterial enteropathies]. / Inquadramento e classificazione delle enteropatie batteriche acute.

The first part considers pathogenic microorganisms (Vibrio cholerae and parahaemolytic vibrio, Clostridium welchii, enteropathogenic E. coli, Shigella, Salmonella, other enterobacteria and pseudomonas. Yersinia, simply enterotoxic Staphylococcus and that producing acute enteritis) and the process of infection (formation of a surface link without endocellular penetration with elaboration of hexotoxins, formation of a surface link with subsequent intracellular penetration, submucosa penetration). The second part discusses Salmonellae on the basis of personal experience. Particular attention is paid to current aspects of Salmonella microbiological pathomorphosis, the various isolated serotypes in relation to carriers or patients, biochemical atypias of Salmonellae strains, present-day aspects of resistance to chemoantibiotic treatment and the transfer of Salmonella Wien resistances.