[Collagenous colitis: a new case of exudative enteropathy]

Collagenous colitis with intestinal protein loss was discovered in a sixty-six year-old female who presented with recurrent and prolonged diarrhea associated with hypoprotidemia, hypoalbuminemia, and increased clearance of alpha-1-antitrypsin. Histologic lesions of collagenous colitis were found during each episode of diarrhea. Biological and histological examinations were normal during the remission phases. Intestinal protein loss appeared to be due to collagenous colitis because of the parallel course of the clinical, biological and histological signs, and because no other cause had been discovered. The possibility of protein exudation, probably secondary to the extent of the epithelial detachment, could be an additional argument for the inflammatory etiology of collagenous colitis.