Thesis (Ph.D.) - Cairo University - Faculty of Medicine - Department of Pediatrics

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) is an increasingly recognized cause of recurrent gastrointestinal bleeding. The prevalence of EG appears to be increasing in many countries, although this may be partly due to increased disease recognition. EG is a heterogeneous and rare disorder characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract. The clinical presentation mimics other gastrointestinal diseases, making endoscopic examination and histological evaluation of biopsies crucial to diagnosis. Its cause is unknown, but allergic mechanisms similar to those of atopic diseases are implicated.This study tried to highlight the prevalence of eosinophilic gastroenteritis between Egyptian children. Forty pediatric patients with recurrent gross or occult gastrointestinal bleeding with or without abdominal pain were randomly chosen from those presenting to the Gastrointestinal Endoscopy Unit in Children Specialized Hospital, Cairo University for colonoscopy. Patients were excluded if presenting with parasitic infestation, diagnosed as inflammatory bowel disease (ulcerative colitis or crohn{u2019}s disease), diagnosed as celiac disease, diagnosed as polyposis syndrome (juvenile or familial) or diagnosed with any kind of neoplasia. From the 40 participants who took part in this study, 19 (47.5%) were diagnosed as definite eosinophilic gastroenteritis, 8 (20%) participants were diagnosed as probable eosinophilic gastroenteritis and 13 (32.5%) participants were diagnosed as othersto the low number of cases participating in this study

Issued also as CD