Hyposplenism, antiendomysial antibodies and lymphocytic colitis in collagenous sprue

Abstract

A 66-year-old woman was seen repeatedly over a decade to remove recurrent colonic adenomas and investigate episodes of watery diarrhea. Although the diarrhea was believed to be due to lymphocytic colitis, she developed weight loss, hypoproteinemia and hyposplenism that resulted in further studies, specifically to exclude celiac disease. Small intestinal biopsies, however, showed severely 'flattened' villous architecture with trichrome-positive subepithelial collagenous deposits, characteristic of collagenous sprue. Antiendomysial antibodies, known serological markers of celiac disease, were also detected. While collagenous sprue has been considered a distinct small intestinal disorder, the constellation of clinical and pathological findings in this patient suggests a close link with adult celiac disease.