Sucessful dietetic-therapy in primary intestinal lymphangiectasia and recurrent chylosa ascites: a case report

Sucessful dietetic-therapy in primary intestinal lymphangiectasia and recurrent chylosa ascites: a case report
Nutr Hosp. 2007 Nov-Dec

Martín CC, García AF, Restrepo JM, Pérez AS.
Unidad de Nutrición Clínica y Dietética, Servicio de Endocrinología y Nutrición, Hospital Universitario Virgen Macarena, Sevilla, España. smaradigna@hotmail.com

OBJECTIVES: Primary intestinal lymphangiectasia is a lymphatic system's disorder, where lymphatic drainage is blockaged. Clinically it produces malabsorption, protein-losing enteropathy, hypogammaglobulin in blood, and several degrees of malnutrition. Its treatment is not easy and includes dietetic-therapy and drugs.

MATERIAL AND METHOD: A 35-year-old-woman case report is exposed. She has recurrent chylosa ascites, requiring several admissions and evacuatory paracentesis. After food-fat was replaced by medium-chain triacyl-glicerol-enriched diet, a clinical, analytical and anthropometric improvement was demonstrated.

CONCLUSSIONS: The major way of treatment in intestinal lymphangiectasia in this case is the employement of specific-diet and adaptaded-basic-food. It's difficult and high collaboration of the patient is required, being necessary medical revisions during the whole life, due to the not well known evolution of this long-standing disease.

PMID: 18051999 [PubMed - in process]