Actinic or Factitial Enteritis: An Unusual Cause of the Malabsorption Syndrome

Abstract

Deep irradiation with x-rays or radium may cause gastrointestinal symptoms soon after exposure or years after the initial treatment. An uncommon late manifestation of such treatment is the malabsorption syndrome occurring secondary to actinic or factitial enteritis. The author presents the case history of a patient in whom factitial enteritis developed due to exposure to deep irradiation 18 years before the patient entered the Mayo Clinic for treatment. This exposure caused damage to the small intestine and to the colonic wall, from which a secondary malabsorption syndrome developed.