A 75-year-old woman was admitted to our hospital for persistent edema. She had been previously admitted to another hospital for 40 days, where she had presented with diarrhea, vomiting, and stomach pain, and had undergone blood tests, computed tomography (CT) , and other tests. However, all tests showed normal findings. Treatment with mesalazine was started for suspected Crohn’s disease. The patient was discharged with a diagnosis of anorexia. After discharge, she was unable to perform routine daily activities because of edema ; therefore, she visited our hospital. Laboratory tests showed hypoalbuminemia. CT showed wall thickening in the small intestine. We then performed protein-losing scintigraphy. Protein loss was noted in the same region showing abnormality on CT. Therefore, we diagnosed protein-losing gastroenteropathy, and steroid therapy was initiated. The therapy was effective. Here we report this case of protein-losing gastroenteropathy without an underlying primary disease and review the literature.
