Abstract

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is a rare chronic disease characterized by presence of gastrointestinal symptoms, eosinophilic infiltration in one or more regions and in different layers of the gastrointestinal tract, absence of an identified cause of eosinophilia and exclusion of eosinophilic involvement in organs other than the gastrointestinal tract. The cause or mechanism of eosinophilic infiltration is not known. Symptoms tend to be intermittent and depend on the location of the disease and the involved layer of the gastrointestinal tract. Any segment of the gastrointestinal tract can be affected but there is some preference for the gastric antrum and the proximal small bowel. Definitive diagnosis is established by endoscopic or full thickness biopsies demonstrating prominent tissue eosinophilia. Majority of patients can be effectively treated with corticosteroids after other systemic disorders  associated with peripheral eosinophilia have been excluded. Occasionally patients respond to mast cell stabilizers, leukotriene receptor antagonists and selective T helper-2 cytokine inhibitors. Eosinophilic gastroenteritis has a good prognosis, although the condition is lifelong and chronic. The disease may be underdiagnosed, however, improvement of the doctors` knowledge and cooperation with pathologists are important factors in the solution of this problem.