Introduction

A 38-year-old woman presented with a 3-month history of abdominal pain, diarrhoea and 2 kg weight loss. Plain CT performed initially revealed minor ascites, without any evidence of bowel inflammation or tumours. Considering the patient’s symptoms and age, IBD was suspected and colonoscopy was performed, which revealed nodular irregularity and a severe stricture in the sigmoid colon that prevented the passage of the scope. Colonic biopsy of the stricture revealed a normal epithelium. Because of the failure to obtain a definitive diagnosis, the patient was referred to our university hospital.

Laboratory tests revealed no anaemia …