An unusual presentation of a primary eosinophilic gastrointestinal disorder

Abstract

Primary Eosinophilic gastroenteritis is an uncommon inflammatory gastrointestinal disease affecting children first described in 1937.Its incidence is 1/100000. The eosinophilic infiltration can occur in one or more segments of the gastrointestinal tract especially stomach and duodenum in the absence of known etiology. One or more layers are infiltrated by eosinophils. The clinical manifestations are heterogeneous. Its pathogenesis is not fully understood but food hypersensitivity is considered a major factor. Treatments are mostly unsatisfactory, and prognosis is uncertain. No guidelines up to this date have been published regarding the management of these patients. We report the case of a premature twin boy who was admitted to the –Neonatal Intensive Care Unit-NICU for suspected sepsis. Our purpose is to highlight the importance of multidisciplinary team approach for management of unusual neonatal cases where sub-specialized workup and skills are a must for early diagnosis and clinical success. Our case is peculiar because of the young age of presentation and the scarce gastrointestinal symptoms at presentation that swayed us towards a hematologic or infectious disorder which are the likely diagnoses at this age.