Chronic diarrhea in a toddler – A case of intestinal lymphangiectasia

Abstract

Intestinal lymphangiectasia (IL), a rare form of protein losing enteropathy, is a benign condition characterized by focal or diffuse dilation of the mucosal, submucosal, and subserosal lymphatics causing loss of lymph fluid into the gastrointestinal tract, leading to edema, hypoproteinemia, lymphocytopenia, hypogammaglobulinemia, and immunological abnormalities. This is a case report of an 18-month-old male child who presented to us with complaints of diarrhea for 6 weeks associated with failure to thrive but without fever and edema which was diagnosed as IL on gastroenteroscopy and confirmed by histopathology.