Protein-losing enteropathy in an unusual form of sarcoidosis

We describe a case of sarcoidosis associated with great gastrointestinal loss of proteins. It was hypothesized that the loss was caused by involvement of sarcoidosis in the gastrointestinal tract. The patient was a 39-year-old woman with sarcoidosis diagnosed at age 32 years. The protein-losing enteropathy was identified by the use of [51Cr]-albumin. An extensive investigation was performed, with biopsy specimens taken from all parts of the gastrointestinal tract, using upper gastrointestinal endoscopy, colonoscopy and the Crosby capsule technique. We could find no support for our hypothesis that the leakage of proteins was caused by involvement of sarcoidosis in the gastrointestinal tract. Thus, mechanisms other than direct inflammatory involvement of the gastrointestinal mucosa probably caused protein-losing enteropathy in this patient.