Enterocolic (lymphocytic) phlebitis: a rare cause of intestinal ischemic necrosis: a series of six patients and review of the literature.

Abstract

Vasculitis of the gastrointestinal tract is known to occur as part of a systemic process but also may be present in a localized form involving only the digestive tract. We report the clinical and pathologic findings of six patients with intestinal ischemia and necrosis resulting from localized phlebitis associated with fresh and/or organized thrombosis of intramural mesenteric veins. None of the patients showed clinical or laboratory evidence of systemic vasculitis. In all cases the arteries were not involved in the inflammatory process. Follow up ranged between 2 and 15 years without recurrence necessitating reoperation. This form of intestinal phlebitis is described in the literature under different terms but lymphocytic phlebitis, granulomatous phlebitis, necrotizing phlebitis, and myointimal venous hyperplasia are probably morphologic variants of the same entity. We propose to unify the nomenclature and to use for this unusual clinicopathologic entity only the generic term of enterocolic (lymphocytic) phlebitis.