Related Experiment Videos
Small Bowel Lesions Mimicking Crohn's Disease
1Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA. david.sachar@mountsinai.org.
Current Gastroenterology Reports
|August 7, 2018
Summary
Many conditions can mimic Crohn's disease in the terminal ileum. This review explores differential diagnoses for acute and chronic ileal lesions beyond Crohn's disease.
Area of Science:
- Gastroenterology
- Pathology
- Internal Medicine
Background:
- Terminal ileum lesions are often presumed to be Crohn's disease.
- However, a diverse range of pathologies can affect the terminal ileum.
Purpose of the Study:
- To review the differential diagnosis of acute and chronic terminal ileal lesions.
- To highlight conditions that mimic Crohn's disease.
Main Methods:
- Literature review of clinical and pathological entities affecting the terminal ileum.
- Analysis of conditions that present similarly to Crohn's disease.
Main Results:
- Numerous entities, including infections, cancers, lymphomas, metastases, vasculitides, and drug reactions, can mimic Crohn's disease.
- Appendiceal pathology, Behçet's disease, and endometriosis are also considered.
Conclusions:
- Diagnosis of Crohn's disease should not be automatic for terminal ileum lesions.
- Consideration of a broad differential diagnosis is crucial for accurate patient management.