Eosinophilic Colitis Diagnosis
Your child’s doctor may do some tests to find out how many eosinophils are in the colon. These tests include an endoscopy or colonoscopy. We also call these tests upper and lower scopes.
During an upper scope, your child’s doctor will put a small tube down the esophagus and into the stomach. During a lower scope, a lighted tube is put into the anus, rectum and large intestine. Your child will be under anesthesia for the scopes. The scope is done as an outpatient visit in same-day surgery. During the scopes, small samples of tissue are taken from the gastrointestinal (GI) tract. These are called biopsies.
A doctor reviews the biopsies to see how many eosinophils there are and what the tissue looks like. It is normal for the large intestine to have some eosinophils to protect against infections and parasites. There is not a defined number for how many eosinophils in the colon are “too high.” Lack of these defined guidelines can make it hard to diagnose.
A doctor will look at the following to diagnose EoC:
- Symptoms
- Medical history
- What the doctor saw during the scope
- Pathology report (eosinophil levels, what the tissue samples look like)
High eosinophil levels in the colon can occur in many conditions. EoC cannot be diagnosed with eosinophil levels alone.
