Saturday, May 25, 2013

Crohn's disease

Table of Contents

Alternative Names

Inflammatory bowel disease - Crohn's disease; Regional enteritis; Ileitis; Granulomatous ileocolitis; IBD- Crohn's disease


Symptoms

Symptoms depend on what part of the gastrointestinal tract is affected. Symptoms range from mild to severe, and can come and go with periods of flare-ups.

The main symptoms of Crohn's disease are:

  • Crampy abdominal (belly area) pain
  • Fever
  • Fatigue
  • Loss of appetite
  • Pain with passing stool (tenesmus)
  • Persistent, watery diarrhea
  • Unintentional weight loss

Other symptoms may include:

  • Constipation
  • Eye inflammation
  • Fistulas (usually around the rectal area, may cause draining of pus, mucus, or stools)
  • Joint pain
  • Liver inflammation
  • Mouth ulcers
  • Rectal bleeding and bloody stools
  • Skin lumps or sores (ulcers)
  • Swollen gums

Signs and tests

A physical examination may reveal an abdominal mass or tenderness, skin rash, swollen joints, or mouth ulcers. Tests to diagnose Crohn's disease include:

  • Barium enema
  • Colonoscopy
  • Computed tomography (CT scan) of the abdomen
  • Endoscopy , including capsule endoscopy
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the abdomen
  • Sigmoidoscopy
  • Enteroscopy
  • Upper GI series

A stool culture may be done to rule out other possible causes of the symptoms.

This disease may also alter the results of the following tests:

  • Albumin
  • C-reactive protein
  • Erythrocyte sedimentation rate
  • Fecal fat
  • Hemoglobin
  • Liver function tests
  • White blood cell count

Review Date: 12/13/2010
Reviewed By: George F Longstreth, MD, Department of Gastroenterology, Kaiser Permanente Medical Care Program San Diego, California. Also reviewed by David Zieve, MD, MHA, Medical Director, A.D.A.M., Inc.

A.D.A.M., Inc. is accredited by URAC, also known as the American Accreditation HealthCare Commission (www.urac.org)