Vasculitis bij het syndroom van Churg-Strauss

A 52-year-old man was admitted to hospital with abdominal pain, erythema and mild eosinophilia. Medical history revealed fatigue and dyspnoea on exertion after returning from the Gambia a year previously, and allergic rhinitis with nasal polyps that were surgically excised. Before a cause of the abdominal symptoms was determined he developed mononeuropathy, severe eosinophilia and arthralgia in combination with positive anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) against myeloperoxidase, which lead to the diagnosis of ‘Churg-Strauss syndrome’. Despite treatment with high-dose corticosteroids (prednisone 1 mg/kg) his abdominal complaints intensified. A CT-scan of the abdomen showed a soft tissue mass around the caecum. Subsequent colonoscopy showed severe ulcerative lesions and signs of colonic ischemia. When PCR for cytomegalovirus appeared to be negative, treatment was intensified with cyclophosphamide 2 mg/kg, resulting in resolution of the abdominal complaints and healing of the ulcerative lesions in the colon. Conflict of interest: none declared. Financial support: none declared.