Gastrointestinal manifestations of essential mixed cryoglobulinemia

A patient with essential mixed cryoglobulinemia (EMC) presented initially with gastric ulcers and, six months later, with a lesion of the ileum, mild stricture of the transverse colon, and stricture of the sigmoid colon with deep ulceration. The initial diagnosis was Crohn's disease, but pathologic examination of the resected sigmoid lesion showed vasculitis secondary to EMC. Patients with EMC can present with gastrointestinal manifestations mimicking Crohn's disease. A review and classification of the gastrointestinal manifestations of EMC are presented.