Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis Misdiagnosed as Common Variable Immunodeficiency

INTRODUCTION Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) is an uncommon disorder characterized by either local or diffuse eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract. The stomach and small bowel is most commonly involved, but EG can occur in the esophagus, colon, pancreas and gallbladder. Clinical presentation varies depending on the anatomical location and the layer of the gastrointestinal tract involved.1 Protein losing enteropathy is a manifestation of this disease secondary to damage of the gastrointestinal epithelium. Proteins such as albumin and most gamma globulins do not have rapid catabolic turnover rates and as such may be limited in their ability to respond to increased gastrointestinal losses.2 We report a case of a patient diagnosed with common variable immunodeficiency (CVID) not responding to therapy. Evaluation determined that his suspected refractory CVID was in fact a protein losing enteropathy due to eosinophilic gastroenteritis.