Inflammatory Lesions of the Small Bowel Other than Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Inflammatory lesions of the small bowel, other than those found in inflammatory bowel disease, are diverse and can result from a variety of insults including infectious disease, ischemia, drug-induced disorders, and others. Although capsule endoscopy (CE) and enteroscopy are available, the differential diagnosis of small bowel disease can be difficult. For example, tuberculous enteritis may occur frequently on the antimesenteric side of the intestine, which can result in a patulous ileocecal valve, transverse ulcers, pseudopolyps, strictures, and cicatricial changes. Endoscopic findings of edematous mucosal lesions with a loss of vessels or a dusky pattern with scattered discrete ulcerations and strictures may be observed in patients with ischemia. CE findings of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug-induced enteropathy range from erosions or ulcers to severe lesions such as villous atrophy and diaphragms. Portal hypertensive enteropathy can be classified into mucosal inflammation-like abnormalities and vascular lesions. This chapter summarizes the experience with CE and enteroscopy for various inflammatory lesions of the small bowel.