Abstract
A 77-year-old woman who was seen at our hospital because of diarrhea and vomiting revealed hypoproteinemia on blood biochemical studies. Gastrointestinal close examination showed multiple irregular ulcers in the jejunum and 99mTc-HAS protein-losing scintigraphy demonstrated a loss of protein from there. We diagnosed the case as multiple ulcers of the jejunum presented with protein-losing gastroenteropathy, and performed laparoscopic assisted partial resection of the small bowel because her disease was resistant against conservative therapy. Gross findings of the resected specimen showed multiple ulcers in the jejunum ranging about 14 cm in length. Histopathological findings showed shortening of cilia and intraepithelial infiltration of lymphocytes. Immunohistochemical staining resulted in strongly positive for CD3/8 and negative for CD4/20, indicating the diagnosis of self-limited coeliac disease-like enteropathy. No hypoproteinemia has occurred as of 5 years after the operation.
This paper deals with a case of self-limited coeliac disease-like enteropathy, together with a review of the literature.
