[Crohn's disease in the stomach and duodenum, a diagnostic problem (author's transl)]

Six cases reports are given of patients with Crohn's disease localized in the stomach or the duodenum, and problems of diagnosis are discussed. In many cases the disease cannot be differentiated from other inflammatory conditions or from gastric carcinoma by means of radiological or endoscopic examination. Careful search for other localisations of the disease, and multiple, accurate biopsies as well as histological examination will allow to establish the diagnosis. If this cannot be done by the before mentioned means, laparotomy has to be performed in order to allow removal of enough tissue for extended histological examination needed to rule out malignancy.