Eosinophilic ascites secondary to toxocariasis

Eosinophilic ascites is a very rare disorder. It can be a manifesta- tion of the eosinophilic gastroenteritis in its serosal form or it can be secondary to infections, malignancies, vasculitis or hypereosino- philic syndrome. Among all infections, the ones produced by inva- sive helminth parasites should be initially suspected and ruled out. We report the case of a patient with eosinophilic ascites associated with diarrhea, abdominal pain and eosinophilia in peripheral blood. Eosinophilic colitis was also demonstrated in a colonic biopsy and empirical steroid treatment was started for suspected eosinophilic gastroenteritis. Later on, the patient improved ; the ascites disappeared and the eosinophil blood count returned to nor- mal. Subsequently, serologic testing for toxocariasis was received positive and therefore, the diagnosis of eosinophilic gastroenteritis was discarded ; albendazole was also added to treatment. The patient remained asymptomatic on follow-up. We emphasize the need to rule out parasitic infections in all patients with gastrointes- tinal symptoms, eosinophilia and eosinophilic infiltration of gastro- intestinal tissues. (Acta gastroenterol. belg., 2015, 78, 332-335).