Case Report
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2025. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastrointest Endosc. Jul 16, 2025; 17(7): 106208
Published online Jul 16, 2025. doi: 10.4253/wjge.v17.i7.106208
Refractory chronic diarrhea complicated with optic neuritis in a young woman: A case report
Chao-Nan Chen, Xin-Yu Fan, Chong-Mei Yang, Xiao-Hua Zhang, Jin Liu
Chao-Nan Chen, Xin-Yu Fan, Chong-Mei Yang, Xiao-Hua Zhang, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250021, Shandong Province, China
Jin Liu, Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, Jinan 250000, Shandong Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Xiao-Hua Zhang and Jin Liu.
Author contributions: Chen CN wrote the manuscript; Fan XY provided technical and material support; Yang CM provided guidance and consultation; Zhang XH and Liu J as co-corresponding authors revised the manuscript. All the authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Informed consent statement: Informed written consent was obtained from the patient for publication of this report and any accompanying images.
Conflict-of-interest statement: All the authors report no relevant conflicts of interest for this article.
CARE Checklist (2016) statement: The authors have read the CARE Checklist (2016), and the manuscript was prepared and revised according to the CARE Checklist (2016).
Open Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jin Liu, Doctor, Department of Gastroenterology, Shandong Provincial Hospital Affiliated to Shandong First Medical University, No. 324 Jingwu Road, Jinan 250000, Shandong Province, China. miracle713@163.com
Received: February 19, 2025
Revised: April 6, 2025
Accepted: May 20, 2025
Published online: July 16, 2025
Processing time: 140 Days and 4 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: Collagenous sprue is a rare and unrecognized cause of diarrhea and weight loss and affects mainly the duodenum and small bowel. The clinical picture often resembles that of celiac sprue, the main differential diagnosis, albeit refractory to a gluten-free diet. The histological features are fundamentally characterized by the deposition of collagen beneath the basement membrane of the gut mucosa. Treatment should be initiated as soon as the diagnosis is established to prevent the progression of fibrosis. We describe the case of a 34-year-old woman with a collagenous sprue, her diagnostic workup, histopathological examination, and response to treatment. This case can inform future clinicians to aid in timely and correct diagnosis.