Sodium cromoglycate in the treatment of eosinophilic gastroenteritis

Abstract

Two patients suffering from eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) were treated with sodium cromoglycate (SCG). Before treatment they showed enteric and cutaneous symptoms, such as abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, diarrhoea and recurrent urticaria and angioedema. The histological findings were a notable amount of eosinophilic infiltration in the lamina propria and gastric glands, a villous shortening and thickening and weak eosinophilic inflammation in the duodenum. The patients were treated with 300 mg SCG, 4 times daily, for 4/5 months. During treatment, the clinical symptoms disappeared and at the end of treatment a reduced inflammation with an almost complete decrease of eosinophilic infiltration was observed. The results provide evidence of SCG efficacy in the treatment of EG and suggest its employment as an alternative to the steroids commonly used in EG.

Unusual presentations of eosinophilic gastroenteritis: Case series and review of literature

“…Sodium cromoglycate is a mast cell stabilizer that prevents release of toxic mediators like histamine, platelet activating factors and leukotrienes from mast cells. There have been several reports of a beneficial response to this drug [38,39] . The usual dose is 200 mg three or four times per day.…”

Adult eosinophilic gastroenteritis and hypereosinophilic syndromes

“…Other remedies have been used but their effectiveness still requires definition. These include: proton pump inhibitors [5] , mast cell stabilizers [12,13] , ketotifen [9,14] , leukotriene antagonists [15] , octreotide [16] and surgical resection of involved intestinal segments [17] . This lengthening therapeutic list might be construed as a clear reflection of the limited forms of effective therapy that are currently available.…”

Gastroenteritis eosinofílica: espectro clínico de una misma entidad

“…Mejores resultados se han obtenido con el empleo del cromoglicato disódico, que actúa no sólo previniendo la degranulación mastocitaria, sino también reduciendo la absorción de antígenos del intestino delgado. Aunque los resultados son discretos, se recomienda su empleo sólo en el caso de ausencia de respuesta o refractariedad al tratamiento corticoideo o si este no estuviera indicado (11,29). La dosis exacta no está bien definida; sin embargo para obtener respuesta sostenida con buena tolerancia, se recomiendan 200 mg al día repartidos en cuatro tomas (2).…”