A 47-yr-old man with hepatitis B virus associated liver cirrhosis was admitted to our hospital with diarrhea and generalized edema and diagnosed as protein-losing enteropathy due to intestinal lymphangiectasia by intestinal biopsy and 99mTc albumin scan. During hospitalization, he received subcutaneous octreotide therapy. After 2 weeks of octreotide therapy, follow-up albumin scan showed no albumin leakage, and the serum albumin level was sustained. We speculate that liver cirrhosis can be a cause of intestinal lymphangiectasia and administration of octreotide should be considered for patients with intestinal lymphangiectasia whose clinical and biochemical abnormalities do not respond to a low-fat diet.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Duodenum/pathology ; Female ; Hepatitis B/complications ; Hepatitis B Virus/metabolism ; Human ; Intestinal Diseases/*drug therapy/virology ; Jejunum/pathology ; Liver Cirrhosis/*drug therapy/virology ; Lymphangiectasis, Intestinal/*drug therapy/virology ; Male ; Middle Aged ; Octreotide/*pharmacology ; Protein-Losing Enteropathies/*drug therapy