Eosinophilic gastroenteritis--an Indian experience.

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an uncommon disorder with varied presentation. Records of 7 patients (6 men) with eosinophilic gastroenteritis, presenting to a large referral hospital over a 10-year period, were analyzed. The patients were young adults (mean age 32 years) with short duration (median 2 months) of illness. Symptoms included abdominal pain and vomiting (100%), weight loss (57%), diarrhea (43%) and abdominal distension (43%). Peripheral eosinophilia was present in all the patients. The diagnosis was made at duodenal (2 patients) or cecal (1) biopsy or surgical full-thickness jejunal biopsy (4). Three patients had predominantly mucosal disease (Klein type I), whereas two patients each had predominantly muscular (type II) and submucosal (type III) disease. Surgical resection was curative in one patient with type II disease. The other six responded to prednisolone, with complete resolution in one patient.