Introduction: Autoimmune enteropathy (AIE) is a rare cause of intractable diarrhea in infancy. A variant with onset in adulthood has recently been described. The immune mechanisms underlying AIE are unclear and the experience in the management of adult AIE is very limited. Case Report: A 19-year-old male patient with massive refractory diarrhea and significant weight loss was diagnosed with AIE. He did not improve with corticosteroid and azathioprine treatment and was then treated successfully with infliximab. The response to treatment was rapid and complete. Because of a severe life-threatening hypersensitivity reaction during the 4th infliximab dose, infliximab had to be discontinued and therapy with tacrolimus was initiated. A complete clinical remission has since been maintained. Conclusion: Both infliximab and tacrolimus may provide a therapeutic alternative in patients with adult refractory AIE.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.