As mast cells have been highlighted in the pathogenesis of diarrhea-predominant irritable bowel syndrome, a new term "mastocytic enterocolitis" was suggested by Jakate and colleagues to describe an increase in mucosal mast cells in patients with chronic intractable diarrhea and favorable response to treatment with antihistamines. Although it is not an established disease entity, two cases have been reported in the English medical literature. Here, for the first time in Asia, we report another case of chronic intractable diarrhea caused by gastrointestinal mastocytosis. The patient was a 70-year-old male with chronic intractable diarrhea for 3 months; the cause of the diarrhea remained obscure even after exhaustive evaluation. However, biopsy specimens from the jejunum were found to have increased mast cell infiltration, and the patient was successfully treated with antihistamines.

Citations

Citations to this article as recorded by  

• Mastocytic Enterocolitis: An Overlooked Diagnosis for Unexplained Chronic Diarrhea in a Patient With Colon Polyps and a Family History of Colon Cancer
  Leeann Hu, Liliana Franco, Jignesh Parikh, Vania Zayat
  Cureus.2023;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Systemic Mastocytosis: A Rare Cause of Diarrhea
  Leonard Hamera, Andrew M Santos, Sean-Patrick A Prince, Sreekanth Chandrupatla, Jeffrey Jordan
  Cureus.2020;[Epub]     CrossRef
• Gastrointestinal Manifestations of Hypereosinophilic Syndromes and Mast Cell Disorders: a Comprehensive Review
  Vivian C. Nanagas, Anna Kovalszki
  Clinical Reviews in Allergy & Immunology.2019; 57(2): 194.     CrossRef
• Mastocytosis
  Jingtao Chen, Patrick Brady, Jay Mamel
  The Nurse Practitioner.2019; 44(8): 17.     CrossRef
• The roles of mast cells in allergic inflammation and mast cell-related disorders
  Hee-Kyoo Kim
  Allergy, Asthma & Respiratory Disease.2017; 5(5): 248.     CrossRef