Cystic lymphangioma of the mesentery and hyposplenism in celiac disease.
Miele L,
Pierconti F,
Forgione A,
Vero V,
Cammarota G,
Molinari F,
Masselli G,
Capristo E,
Martini M,
Larocca LM,
Civello IM,
Gasbarrini G,
Grieco A.
Department of Internal Medicine, Catholic University of Sacred Heart, Roma, Italy.
Celiac disease is characterized by intestinal inflammation and mucosal atrophy that improves on a gluten-free diet. Delayed diagnosis can result in diet-refractory disease known as refractory sprue, which is linked to other disorders (intestinal lymphoma, ulcerative jejunoileitis, mesenteric lymph-node cavitation, collagenous sprue, malignancy) and carries a poor prognosis. Here we report the case of a young woman diagnosed with Marsh stage 3C celiac disease with intestinal occlusion due to intra-abdominal cystic lymphangioma mimicking mesenteric lymph-node cavitation, and hyposplenism. Despite a number of prognostically negative features, the disease has been managed successfully for the past 2 years with a gluten-free diet. The pathogenesis, prognosis and therapeutic implications are discussed.
PMID: 18049176 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]