Do scattered white spots in the duodenum mark a specific gastrointestinal pathology?
OBJECTIVE
To discover whether scattered white spots (SWS) in the duodenum are related to a specific kind of disease. We also scrutinized other upper endoscopic findings which might be associated with SWS.


METHODS
Among the patients who were admitted for upper gastrointestinal system endoscopy, those having the endoscopic appearance of SWS in duodenum were enrolled in this study. In total 107 patients [70 women, 37 men, mean age: 51.6 +/- 16.88 years (range: 17-82 years)] were included. At least three duodenal biopsies were taken from each patient and histopathological examinations were done by experienced pathologists.


RESULTS
The histopathological examination revealed that 39 (36.4%) patients had intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL), 15 (14%) patients had giardiasis (G) and 30 (28.1%) patients had chronic non-specific duodenitis (CD). Two patients with IL were also found to have G. Twenty patients had both IL and CD. One had both G and CD. G was the least common etiology for SWS in the duodenum. The most common reasons for SWS in the duodenum in this study group were IL and CD, in order of decreasing frequency. There was no significant relationship with the other upper endoscopic findings in all these patients.


CONCLUSIONS
Histopathological examinations should be provided for each patient with SWS in the duodenum to assess the etiology.
Biyikoğlu
Ibrahim
I
Department of Gastroenterology, Ankara Education and Research Hospital, Ankara, Turkey. ibiyikoglu@yahoo.com.tr
Babali
Ayşegül
A
Cakal
Başak
B
Köklü
Seyfettin
S
Filik
Levent
L
Astarci
Müzeyyen H
MH
Ustün
Hüseyin
H
Ustündağ
Yücel
Y
Akbal
Erdem
E
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D004382:Duodenitis / Q000469:parasitology / Q000473:pathology*; D004386:Duodenum / Q000473:pathology*; D016099:Endoscopy, Gastrointestinal; D005260:Female; D005873:Giardiasis / Q000473:pathology*; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology; D008201:Lymphangiectasis, Intestinal / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D055815:Young Adult