Abdominal abscesses in adolescents with Crohn's disease

Little information is available about the development of abdominal abscesses in adolescents with Crohn's disease. We report the clinical presentation of five adolescents with Crohn's disease who developed this complication. The mean time from diagnosis until development of an abdominal abscess was 1.7 years. The admitting diagnosis was an acute abdomen in two patients and recurrent Crohn's disease in the other three. No features of the clinical presentation or laboratory data distinguished this group from other adolescents with Crohn's disease. The use of ultrasound and CT scanning was helpful in making this diagnosis preoperatively. Those patients with active Crohn's disease who do not respond promptly to medical therapy should be evaluated for the development of this complication.