Unusual manifestations of gastric inflammatory fibroid polyp in a child.

Abstract

Inflammatory fibroid polyp (IFP) is a rare benign lesion that may occur throughout the digestive tract. IFP is more commonly found in the antrum of the stomach in particular. It mostly affects adults at the average age of 60 years. These polyps are able to cause abdominal pain, gastrointestinal bleeding, intestinal obstruction or intussusception. In this paper we report a case of gastric IFP with unusual presenting features. A child with gastric IFP was described and the literature was reviewed. A 4-year-old girl presented with fever for 2 months, arthralgia of knees and ankles, iron deficiency anemia, and hypoalbuminemia. Her stool examination was positive for occult blood. The upper gastrointestinal study demonstrated a large lobulated mass at the upper part of gastric body. Partial gastrectomy en bloc with this 5 cm x 8 cm mass was subsequently performed. Pathological examination was consistent with IFP. Following the mass excision, her fever abruptly declined and disappeared together with anemia and arthralgia. She remained asymptomatic and the abdominal ultrasonography performed at the 24-month follow-up demonstrated no recurrence of the tumor. The etiopathogenesis of IFP still remains unclear. The presence of IFP throughout the gastrointestinal tract and its variable clinical appearances make it difficult to diagnose. The inflammatory symptoms found in this patient support the hypothesis of inflammatory benign lesions of IFP.