Henoch-Schönlein purpura with ileitis terminalis

Gastrointestinal manifestations of Henoch-Schönlein purpura commonly include abdominal pain and gastrointestinal bleeding as well as extraintestinal signs and symptoms. We report here on a 24-year-old man with gastrointestinal pain in whom the classical features of Henoch-Schönlein purpura appeared only 6 days after acute abdominal symptoms. At endoscopic investigation inflammation with aphthous lesions was detected at the terminal ileum, which is a common feature of Crohn's disease. The observation that vasculitic disorders such as Henoch-Schönlein purpura can present with inflammatory lesions at the terminal ileum which are indistinguishable from those of Crohn's disease underlines the potential vasculitic basis of the latter condition.