Gastroenterite eosinofílica: relato de caso / Eosinophilic gastroenteritis: case report

A gastroenterite eosinofílica é uma doença rara, de etiologia desconhecida, com infiltração eosinofílica da parede gastrintestinal a uma profundidade variável e diversas manifestações gastrintestinais. Relatamos o caso de um homem de 37 anos admitido com queixa aguda de dor abdominal e vômitos biliares. Tratava-se de uma gastroenterite eosinofílica, com infiltração predominante da camada muscular (submucosa e lâmina própria), que respondeu a um curso de corticoide em doses baixas, estando assintomático até o momento em que se relatou o caso.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare disease of unknown etiology, with eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal wall to a depth variable and various gastrointestinal symptoms. We report the case of a 37 year old man admitted with complaints of acute abdominal pain and vomiting bile. It was an eosinophilic gastroenteritis with predominant infiltration of the muscle layer (submucosa and lamina propria), which responded to a course of steroids in low doses, with no symptoms until the time it was reported the case.

An analysis of poison control center reports of ciguatera toxicity in Puerto Rico for one year.

Forty-five cases of ciguatera poisoning in Puerto Rico (P.R.) are described. These cases represent all those reported to the P.R. Poison Control Center in 1982. Most of the cases were reported in the spring and summer months. The most common fish ingested was the grouper. The clinical presentation of acute and long term symptoms was similar to that reported in other geographical areas, except the incidence of paresthesias. Paresthesias were reported in 11% of the patients reported to the poison center. A companion telephone survey indicated that persons in P.R. that do not eat fish do so because of fear of ingesting the toxin. Our findings indicate an overall familial contact with the ciguatera toxin in Puerto Rico at 7%. This study is the first to document that ciguatera is a common poisoning reported to the Poison Control Center in Puerto Rico. Our findings also support other authors contentions of geographical variations in clinical symptomatology.