Osteonecrosis of both knees in a woman with Crohn's disease

Osteonecrosis is a very rare complication of Crohn's disease (CD). It is not clear if it is related to corticosteroid therapy or if it occurs as an extraintestinal manifestation of inflammatory bowel disease. We present the case of a patient with CD who presented with osteonecrosis of both knees. A 22 years old woman was diagnosed with CD in April 2012 (Montreal Classification A2L1 + L4B3p). She was started on prednisolone (40 mg/d), azathioprine (100 mg/d) and messalazine (3 g/d). In July 2012, due to active perianal disease, infliximab therapy was initiated. In September 2012, she had a pelvic abscess complicated by peritonitis and an ileal segmental resection and right hemicolectomy were performed. In December 2012 she was diagnosed with bilateral septic arthritis of both knees with walking impairment. She was treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, started a physical rehabilitation program and progressively improved. However, then, bilateral knee pain exacerbated by movement developed. Magnetic resonance imaging showed multiple osseous medullary infarcts in the distal extremity of the femurs, proximal extremity of the tibiae and patellas and no signs of subchondral collapse, which is consistent with osteonecrosis. The patient recovered completely and maintains therapy with azathioprine and messalazine. A review of the literature is also done.