Crohn's Disease

Information

Crohn's disease is an inflammatory bowel disease with an incompletely understood etiology. It is believed to be a combination of immune, environmental and bacterial factors. Theoretically it can affect the entire digestive system - from the oral cavity to the anus. Crohn's disease affects the entire wall of the organs - esophagus, stomach, small intestine, large intestine, i.e. the inflammation is transmural.

Types:
Depending on the affected area and the course of the disease, the clinical picture and prognosis vary. Most often the affected area is the terminal part of the small intestine - the terminal ileum - and the initial part of the large intestine, which is why in the past this disease was called "terminal ileitis". It may progress with narrowing of the intestinal diameter - stenosis, and the formation of pathological openings between organs in the abdominal cavity due to the chronic inflammation - fistulization.

Symptoms:
Symptoms vary depending on the specific location. The most common symptoms are abdominal pain, diarrhea, which can often be bloody, fever, weight loss, anemia. Due to the involvement of the intestinal wall, this can lead to intestinal obstruction - ileus, the formation of abscesses in the abdominal cavity or perianal area.

This disease very often also affects other organs and systems - skin, joints, eyes, etc.

Treatment:
Treatment can be conservative or surgical. In order to begin treatment, a gastroenterologist must perform a thorough diagnosis - endoscopy (gastroscopy or colonoscopy) with biopsies taken, and testing of various biochemical markers - most often calprotectin. Based on the endoscopic findings and the histological result of the biopsy taken, the appropriate individual treatment is selected for the patient. Most often these are various immunosuppressants, corticosteroids, and increasingly in practice, so-called biological therapies, which are monoclonal antibodies with a strictly specific action in the inflammatory process.

Treatment is long-term - most often for life - and patients are actively monitored by their treating gastroenterologist.

If you have symptoms resembling Crohn's disease, don't delay - schedule a consultation with a gastroenterologist at VITA Hospital.