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[Life-threatening acute lower gastrointestinal bleeding in patients with Crohn's disease]

M Barreiro de Acosta1, S Seijo Ríos, J E Domínguez Muñoz

  • 1Servicio de Aparato Digestivo, Hospital Clínico Universitario, C/ Choupana, s/n. 15706 Santiago de Compostela, A Coruña, Spain. manubarreiro@hotmail.com

Revista Espanola De Enfermedades Digestivas
|November 2, 2007
PubMed

Insights

Acute severe gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a rare complication in Crohn's disease (CD) patients, occurring in 1.7% of cases. This severe bleeding primarily affects young patients with inflammatory ileal CD and often necessitates urgent surgical intervention.

Area of Science:

  • Gastroenterology
  • Internal Medicine
  • Clinical Research

Context:

  • Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease.
  • Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding is a potential complication of CD.
  • Understanding the frequency and risk factors for severe GI bleeding in CD is crucial for patient management.

Purpose:

  • To evaluate the frequency of acute severe GI bleeding in CD patients.
  • To identify potential risk factors associated with severe GI bleeding in CD, including clinical features, environmental factors, and genetic alterations.

Summary:

  • A study of 174 CD patients found that 1.7% experienced severe acute lower GI bleeding.
  • All affected patients required surgery, representing 3.4% of CD-related surgeries.
  • The bleeding occurred in young patients (<25 years) with inflammatory ileal CD (L1-B1 Vienna Classification).
  • No association was found between acute bleeding and evaluated risk factors like smoking or specific gene mutations.

Impact:

  • Acute severe GI bleeding is a rare but serious complication in CD.
  • Diagnosis often requires endoscopy and arteriography.
  • Urgent surgical intervention is typically necessary for hemorrhage control.
Abstract

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