Differential diagnosis of small bowel erosions
Small bowel erosions are most commonly caused by inflammatory, drug-related, or infectious mucosal injury. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Inflammatory bowel disease
Crohn disease is a key cause of small bowel erosions. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Medication-related enteropathy
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID) enteropathy is a major cause of small bowel erosions. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Infectious enteritis
Cytomegalovirus infection can cause small bowel ulcers/erosions, particularly in immunodeficiency. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Mycobacterial infection (including Mycobacterium tuberculosis and Mycobacterium avium complex) is included among causes of small-intestinal mucosal ulceration/erosions in reviews of small bowel ulcerative disease. (annualreviews.org)
Radiation enteritis
Radiation enteritis is a recognized cause of small bowel mucosal erosions/ulceration after abdominal or pelvic radiotherapy. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Ischemic injury
Ischemia colitis and other ischemic processes involving the small bowel can be included in the differential diagnosis of small bowel ulcerative/erosive lesions. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Behçet disease
Behçet disease is included in the differential diagnosis of inflammatory small bowel ulcerative/erosive lesions. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Eosinophilic gastrointestinal disease
Eosinophilic gastroenteritis can present with small bowel erosions on endoscopy. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Malignancy
Ulcerated small bowel lymphoma and ulcerated intestinal malignancy are included among neoplastic causes of small bowel erosions/ulceration on endoscopic and imaging differential diagnosis lists. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Practical diagnostic clarification points
Endoscopic appearance of small bowel erosions is often nonspecific. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Clinical correlation is required to distinguish drug-induced injury from other inflammatory causes such as Crohn disease. (pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov)
Tissue sampling during device-assisted enteroscopy is used to support infectious and inflammatory etiologies when diagnosis remains uncertain. (onlinelibrary.wiley.com)