What is Crohns disease?
Crohn’s disease is an idiopathic inflammatory disease condition that can affect any part of the GI tract. The peak age of patients affected is 15 to 25 years of age. The small bowel is most commonly affected (most often involving the terminal ileum), followed by the large bowel, stomach (most often involving the gastric antrum and body) and duodenum, and the esophagus. When the stomach, duodenum, or esophagus is involved, there is almost always involvement of either the jejunum/ileum or large bowel as well. Skip lesions, where abnormal segments of bowel are separated by intervening normal segments of bowel, are characteristically seen. Patients have an increased risk of GI tract adenocarcinoma and lymphoma as well.
Differentiation of active inflammatory Crohn’s disease from fibrostenotic Crohn’s disease is important because the former is typically treated medically whereas the latter is typically treated with stricturoplasty or surgical resection. However, mixed fibrostenotic and active inflammatory Crohn’s disease may occur.
