Introduction
Eosinophilic gastroenteritis (EG) is a rare chronic inflammatory disease
characterized by eosinophilic infiltration that may involve any part of
the gastrointestinal (GI) tract wall with various manifestations
[1,2]. Although no accurate epidemiologic data are available, the
incidence of EG is estimated to be approximately 1-30/100,000 [3,4].
The stomach and small intestine are the most commonly affected areas.
Based on the histopathological findings of eosinophilic infiltration, it
can be divided into three types: mucosal, muscularis and subserosal
[5]. Clinical manifestations vary greatly, depending on which layer
and part of the GI tract are predominantly affected. Patients with the
mucosal form mostly present with abdominal pain, vomiting, diarrhea,
anemia, and protein-losing enteropathy. Obstructive symptoms are typical
symptoms of the muscularis form, while the symptoms of the serosal forms
may include ascites, bloating, possible peritonitis, and a high
peripheral eosinophil count [6]. Due to its rarity and unspecific
presentations, EG is not only easy to ignore in clinical practice, but
also easy to miss in the process of pathological diagnosis [7],
leading to misdiagnosis. Here, we present an EG case misdiagnosed as
cholelithiasis and discuss its clinical characteristics. This can
illustrate the importance of including EG in the differential diagnosis
of abdominal pain even when there are no obvious allergens that suggest
it as a possible reason.