Intestinal Neuronal Dysplasia Type B: Timely Diagnosis and Management

A 23-year-old female presented to the emergency department with abdominal pain and constipation. She reported an extensive history of constipation. Imaging showed distended bowel without an obstruction. During laparotomy, no obvious mechanical cause was found and a total colectomy was performed. Gross examination of the colectomy specimen showed cobblestoning in a 10-cm portion of the colon. Microscopic examination demonstrated hypoganglionosis of the myenteric plexus, hyperganglionosis of Auerbach’s plexus, and “giant ganglia.” This case met the 2006 Meier-Ruge criteria and diagnosis of intestinal neuronal dysplasia (IND) was established. IND was first described in 1971. The frequency of IND varies widely due to lack of consensus of diagnostic criteria and has a geographic distribution with the highest rates in Europe, which correlates to published research in this region. Diagnostic criteria are controversial and require standardization. Meier-Ruge suggests a quantitative analysis of the number of ganglion cells in the submucosal plexuses and the identification of at least 20% giant ganglia with at least 8 neurons each, in 25 analyzed ganglia. More recent diagnostic criteria are conservative with differences, including (1) elimination of increased AChE-positive nerve fibers around submucosal blood vessels, (2) stipulation that a giant ganglion contains more than 8 ganglion cells, (3) the requirement that more than 20% of at least 25 ganglia be giant ganglia, and (4) diagnostic exclusion of patients