Article in Japanese

A one-year-old boy with protein-losing enteropathy caused by Yersinia enterocolitica infection

Kensuke KIDOUCHI¹⁾, Yasuhiro IKAWA¹⁾, Natsumi INOUE¹⁾, Akiko KATO¹⁾, Akihiro YACHIE¹⁾

Most Yersinia enterocolitica (Y. ent) infection in childhood is mildly symptomatic, with diarrhea or vomiting, but severe dehydration or sepsis also can be associated. Therefore, symptoms require careful evaluation. This study described a one-year-old boy who was admitted to this hospital with repeated vomiting, watery diarrhea, severe dehydration, and hypoproteinemia. Y. ent serovar O8 antigen was detected in his feces, and significantly increased serum anti-Yersinia O8 antibody confirmed Y. ent (O8) enteritis. Fecal immunoglobulin values revealed marked protein loss into the intestine, indicating a diagnosis of protein-losing enteropathy secondary to Y. ent enteritis. Fecal immunoglobulin decreased and serum total protein increased as his general status improved. The condition of this patient provided an opportunity to elucidate the mechanisms of Y. ent enteritis, complicated by rare protein-losing enteropathy. Moreover, sequential analysis of fecal immunoglobulin enabled the cause of hypoproteinemia to be identified and helped in assessing disease activity.

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1) The Department of Pediatrics, Kanazawa University Hospital

Key words	Yersinia enterocolitica, protein-losing enteropathy (PLE), hypoproteinemia, fecal immunoglobulin values
Received	September 28, 2017
Accepted	April 12, 2018

30 (2)：121─126,2018