Korean J Gastrointest Endosc.
1998 Jun;18(3):417-425.
A Case of Eosinophilic Colitis as a Complication of the Hypereosinophilic Syndrome
- Affiliations
-
- 1Department of Internal Medicine, Ewha Womans University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
Abstract
- The hypereosinophilic syndrome (HES) is a leukoproliferative disorder, marked by a sustained overproduction of eosinophils and a predilection to damage specific organs. There are several diagnostic criteria. First, the patient must sustained blood eosinophilia of greater than 1,500/mm3, for longer than 6 months. Secondly, other apparent etiologies for eosinophilia must be absent, ineluding parasitic infections and allergic diseases. Thirdly, the patient must have signs and symptoms of organ involvement. Cardiac and neurologic diseases, frequent in HES, are major causes of morbidity and mortality. The damage to the heart and nervous system is due to thrombosis and fibrosis. Gastrointestinal tract involvement can accompany HES, but severe eosinophilic colitis was very rarely described in association with this syndrome. In this report, we present a patient with HES and eosinophilic colitis who was successfully treated with steroids.