Eosinophilic gastroenteritis: report of two atypical cases

Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis (EG) is a poorly understood disorder defined by eosinophilic infiltration of the bowel wall, eosinophilia and gastrointestinal symptoms. The disease's aetiology, course and treatment are not well known. We report two atypical cases of EG: one involving the mucosal layer and another involving the serosal and muscularis layer. The first shows how EG may present with a long history of episodes of intestinal obstruction and malabsorption and how the disease could take a severe course and may be unresponsive to treatment. The second case shows EG presenting as acute abdomen and which subsequently became asymptomatic without therapy, regardless of the fact that peripheral eosinophilia remained present. This case raises the problem of how to treat an asymptomatic patient, what parameters should be considered in order to assess the progress of the disease and the indications for treatment.