Related Experiment Video
Updated: Jun 21, 2026
Analyzing Beneficial Effects of Nutritional Supplements on Intestinal Epithelial Barrier Functions During Experimental Colitis
Published on: January 5, 2017
Evaluation of mucosal eosinophils in the pediatric colon
Licia Pensabene1, Marie-Anne Brundler, Juliane M Bank
1Department of Pediatrics, Division of Pediatric Gastroenterology, Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh, University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.
Insights
Colonic eosinophilia in children is clinically significant. Inflammatory bowel disease shows higher, evenly distributed eosinophils, unlike superficial patterns in irritable bowel syndrome or allergies.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Gastroenterology
- Gastrointestinal Pathology
Background:
- Colonic eosinophilia is a finding in pediatric gastrointestinal pathology.
- Its clinical significance across various diagnoses requires further elucidation.
Purpose of the Study:
- To evaluate the clinical significance of colonic eosinophilia in children.
- To differentiate diagnostic patterns based on eosinophil distribution and counts.
Main Methods:
- Retrospective study of 69 children with colonic eosinophilia (1999-2001).
- Review of pathology reports, medical records, and histological slides (H&E).
- Quantitative analysis of eosinophil counts and distribution validated by image analysis.
Main Results:
- Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) showed significantly higher maximal eosinophil counts per crypt area compared to irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), food allergies, and other diagnoses.
- IBD cases exhibited higher total lamina propria cellularity and a more equal vertical distribution of eosinophils.
- IBS and other diagnoses, including allergies, presented with mostly superficial eosinophil distribution and lower cellularity.
Conclusions:
- Children with IBD demonstrate distinct patterns of colonic eosinophilia: higher counts, increased cellularity, and even distribution.
- Superficial distribution and lower cellularity characterize colonic eosinophilia in IBS and other conditions like allergies.
- These findings aid in differentiating pediatric gastrointestinal disorders based on eosinophilic infiltration patterns.
Abstract:
To evaluate the clinical significance of colonic eosinophilia, we conducted a retrospective study of all children older than 1 year evaluated at Children's Hospital of Pittsburgh from January 1999 to June 2001 with a description of colonic eosinophilia in the pathology report. Medical records were reviewed. Diagnoses were confirmed by contacting the patients. Histological slides (H&E) were reviewed by an investigator blind to the patients' data. Biopsies were grouped according to the site they were taken from and then screened at low power for areas of maximal eosinophilia for further quantitative analysis. Results of manual counts were validated by image analysis using Metaphor Image Analysis Software. Sixty-nine children with colonic eosinophilia were identified (36 male; mean age, 135.2 +/- 55.4 months). Their final diagnoses were inflammatory bowel disease in 32% (group A), irritable bowel syndrome in 33% (group B), food allergies in 10% (group C), and other diagnoses in 25% (group D). The maximal eosinophil count per crypt area was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in group A vs groups B, C, and D (34.8 +/- 17.1 vs 21.3 +/- 8.8, 25.4 +/- 16.7, and 24.2 +/- 9.7, respectively). The total cellularity of the lamina propria was considered high only in group A (P < 0.05 vs groups B and C). A mostly equal vertical distribution of eosinophils throughout the lamina propria was found significantly more frequently in group A vs groups C (P = 0.04) and D (P = 0.007). We conclude that children with inflammatory bowel disease have an equal distribution of eosinophils throughout the lamina propria, with intraepithelial and intracryptal eosinophils and with a higher overall total cellularity. In irritable bowel syndrome and patients with a variety of other diagnoses, including allergies, the distribution is mostly superficial, with a lower total cellularity.
