Ileitis hyperplastica follicularis Golden: surgical or conservative treatment?

The authors report on four cases of Golden's syndrome, a rare disease with unknown etiology and controversial therapy. The first two 7-year-old boys had gastrointestinal bleeding; their hemoglobin levels were 7.0 g% and 7.3 g%, respectively. A blood transfusion was required. Both patients underwent gastroscopy and rectoscopy, and no source of bleeding was found. Biopsies were taken during laparotomy, after terminal ileotomy in case one and coecotomy in the other. Bowel resection was not necessary in either case. The third and fourth boys (5 and 6 years old, respectively) were treated conservatively with parenteral nutrition; blood transfusion was not necessary. All four patients recovered within several days. Control colonoscopies 6 months later showed normal mucosa. The authors discuss their diagnostic and therapeutical regime, stressing that in their experience, this rare disease does not require surgical intervention.