title: Successful treatment of eosinophilic gastroenteritis with clarithromycin.
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.
authors.affiliation: Department of General Medicine, Hokkaido Social Insurance Hospital, Sapporo, Japan. masshi@isis.ocn.ne.jp
authors.forename: Masashi
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Ohe
authors.forename: Satoshi
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Hashino
mesh_terms: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use; D017291:Clarithromycin / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D004751:Enteritis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D004802:Eosinophilia / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D005756:Gastritis / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000276:immunology / Q000473:pathology; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D011239:Prednisolone / Q000008:administration & dosage
chemical_list: D000900:Anti-Bacterial Agents; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D011239:Prednisolone; D017291:Clarithromycin