Chronic diarrhoea and abdominal mass: a case of intestinal lymphangiectasia

Abstract Introduction Intestinal lymphangiectasia is a protein-losing enteropathy caused by congenital malformation or secondary obstruction of intestinal lymphatic vessels, which usually causes excessive protein loss in the intestine and malabsorption syndrome. Patients may be asymptomatic or complain of oedema, diarrhoea, hypoalbuminaemia and other deficiencies. This article reports a case of chronic diarrhoea and an abdominal mass. Case report We present the case of a 70-year-old woman who came to our gastroenterological clinic for diarrhoea. Blood and stool tests were within the normal ranges, except for a mild eosinophilia and a high C-reactive protein. The ultrasound scan showed a cystic retropancreatic mass, and the following computed tomography scan confirmed the presence of the mass without sure continuity with the dorsal pancreas. The fine needle aspiration performed during an echoendoscopy, permitted the complete aspi ration of the fluid and the cytological analysis that showed numerous lymphocytes. The diagnosis of Intestinal lymphangiectasia was done, and Chronic diarrhoea and abdominal mass: a case of intestinal lymphangiectasia