small intestinal Crohn's
Last reviewed 05/2022
The affects of Crohn's disease on the small intestine include:
- mouth ulcers:
- apthous ulcers are common in active disease
- rarely, there are oropharyngeal Crohn's ulcers
- duodenal Crohn's ulcers:
- these are usually postbulbar and are very rare
- associated with a high ESR
- fibrotic stricture is suggested by colicky abdominal pain without systemic illness or localised tenderness
- malabsorption:
- rarely occurs unless there is widespread disease
- malabsorption of vitamin B12 will occur if 80cm or more of the distal ileum is diseased
- protein enteropathy rarely results in widespread oedema
- small intestinal disease will often be accompanied by an abdominal mass, most often in the right iliac fossa and doughy in consistency
- extraintestinal manifestations are rarer with small intestinal than with colonic Crohn's disease