Service de maladies infectieuses et tropicales, NHC, CHU de Strasbourg, 1, place de l'Hôpital, 67091 Strasbourg cedex, France. Electronic address: [Email]
BACKGROUND : Mesenteric lymph node cavitation is an exceptional complication of celiac disease. We report four original observations of this syndrome, completed by a literature review. CONCLUSIONS : The analysis of 38 cases showed that this complication occurred exclusively in adults, with a mean age at diagnosis of 54 years. It revealed the celiac disease in the majority of cases. Hyposplenism was almost systematically associated. The risk of lymphoma appeared higher, especially enteropathy-associated T-cell lymphoma. The prognosis was poor with nearly 50% mortality and seemed related to the clinical response to the gluten-free diet. CONCLUSIONS : The severity of this complication deserves to be known and should lead to its research in celiac patients, especially in cases diagnosed in adulthood or in case of refractory disease.
