Korean J Intern Med.  2012 Dec;27(4):451-454.

Successful Treatment of Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis with Clarithromycin

Affiliations
  • 1Department of General Medicine, Hokkaido Social Insurance Hospital, Sapporo, Japan. masshi@isis.ocn.ne.jp
  • 2Department of Gastroenterology and Hematology, Hokkaido University Graduate School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.

Abstract

Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EGE) is an uncommon disease characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract, which is usually associated with abdominal pain, diarrhea, ascites, and peripheral eosinophilia. Steroids remain the mainstay of treatment for EGE, but symptoms often recur when the dose is reduced. Macrolides have immunomodulatory effects as well as antibacterial effects. The immunomodulatory effect results in inhibition of T-lymphocyte proliferation and triggering of T-lymphocyte and eosinophil apoptosis. Macrolides also have a steroid-sparing effect through their influence on steroid metabolism. We report a rare case of EGE, which relapsed on steroid reduction but improved following clarithromycin treatment.

Keyword

Macrolides; Clarithromycin; Eosinophilic enteropathy

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain
Apoptosis
Ascites
Clarithromycin
Diarrhea
Enteritis
Eosinophilia
Eosinophils
Gastritis
Gastroenteritis
Gastrointestinal Tract
Macrolides
Steroids
T-Lymphocytes
Clarithromycin
Enteritis
Eosinophilia
Gastritis
Macrolides
Steroids
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