Crohn Disease Differential Diagnoses

  • Author: Priya Rangasamy, MD; Chief Editor: Julian Katz, MD   more...
 
Updated: Jun 16, 2011
 
 

Diagnostic Considerations

Patients with ulcerative colitis frequently have bloody diarrhea, occasionally with tenesmus. Patients with Crohn disease frequently have abdominal pain and diarrhea, and occasionally they have symptoms of intestinal obstruction. A variety of intestinal and extraintestinal manifestations also may be observed in conjunction with either Crohn disease or ulcerative colitis. Despite extensive workup, 10% of patients with isolated Crohn colitis have an indeterminate colitis, with features of both Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis. If these patients undergo long-term follow-up, small bowel disease characteristic of Crohn disease ultimately develops.

Table. Characteristics Differentiating Crohn Disease and Ulcerative Colitis (Open Table in a new window)

Characteristic
Crohn diseaseUlcerative colitis
DistributionEntire GI tractColon only, although gastritis recognized
Skip lesionsContinuous involvement proximally from rectum
PathologyFull thicknessMucosa only
Granulomas (30%)No granulomas
RadiologyEntire GI tractColon only
Skip lesionsContinuous involvement proximally from rectum
Fistulae, abscesses, fibrotic stricturesMucosal disease only
Cancer riskIncreasedEstimated 1% per year starting 10 years after diagnosis
Presentation
Crohn diseaseUlcerative colitis
BleedingOccasionalVery common
ObstructionCommonUncommon
FistulaCommonNone
Weight lossCommonUncommon
Perianal diseaseCommonRare

Differential Diagnoses

Proceed to Workup
 
 
Contributor Information and Disclosures
Author

Priya Rangasamy, MD  Fellow, Department of Gastroenterology/Hepatology, University of Connecticut Health Center

Priya Rangasamy, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Coauthor(s)

Yung-Hsin Chen, MD  Staff Physician, Department of Radiology, Nassau University Medical Center

Yung-Hsin Chen, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Roentgen Ray Society, Radiological Society of North America, and Society of Skeletal Radiology

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Marcy L Coash, DO  Staff Physician, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Connecticut

Marcy L Coash, DO is a member of the following medical societies: American Medical Student Association/Foundation and American Osteopathic Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Spencer B Gay, MD  Professor of Radiology, Director of Body Computed Tomography, Department of Radiology, University of Virginia Health Sciences Center

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

John L Haddad, MD  Clinical Associate Professor, Department of Radiology, Weill Medical College of Cornell University; Director of Body MRI, Department of Radiology, Methodist Hospital in Houston

John L Haddad, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Radiology, American Medical Association, and Radiological Society of North America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Eugene C Lin, MD  Consulting Radiologist, Virginia Mason Medical Center; Clinical Assistant Professor of Radiology, University of Washington School of Medicine

Eugene C Lin, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Nuclear Medicine, American College of Radiology, Radiological Society of North America, and Society of Nuclear Medicine

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Dermot PB McGovern, MD, PhD, MRCP  Director of Translational Medicine, Inflammatory Bowel and Immunobiology Research Institute; Associate Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine, UCLA, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center

Dermot PB McGovern, MD, PhD, MRCP is a member of the following medical societies: American Gastroenterological Association, American Society of Human Genetics, British Society of Gastroenterology, and Royal College of Physicians of the United Kingdom

Disclosure: UCB Honoraria Consulting; UCB Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Salix Honoraria Speaking and teaching; UCB Grant/research funds Other; Prometheus Consulting fee Consulting

Gil Y Melmed, MD  Director, Clinical Trials, Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center; Assistant Clinical Professor of Medicine, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA

Gil Y Melmed, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology and American Gastroenterological Association

Disclosure: Amgen Consulting fee Consulting; Shire Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Proctor and Gamble Honoraria Speaking and teaching; UCB Consulting fee Consulting; Centocor Consulting fee Consulting; Prometheus Labs Honoraria Speaking and teaching

David I Weltman, MD  Consulting Staff, S & D Medical, LLP; Director, Department of Radiology, Southside Hospital

David I Weltman, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Radiology, American Roentgen Ray Society, Association of Program Directors in Radiology, New York County Medical Society, and Radiological Society of North America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

George Y Wu, MD, PhD  Professor, Department of Medicine, Director, Hepatology Section, Herman Lopata Chair in Hepatitis Research, University of Connecticut School of Medicine

George Y Wu, MD, PhD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American Gastroenterological Association, American Medical Association, American Society for Clinical Investigation, and Association of American Physicians

Disclosure: Springer Consulting fee Consulting; Gilead Consulting fee Review panel membership; Gilead Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Bristol-Myers Squibb Honoraria Speaking and teaching; Springer Royalty Review panel membership

Dahua Zhou, MD  Staff Physician, Department of Radiology, Nassau University Medical Center

Dahua Zhou, MD is a member of the following medical societies: Radiological Society of North America

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Specialty Editor Board

Waqar A Qureshi, MD  Associate Professor of Medicine, Chief of Endoscopy, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Baylor College of Medicine and Veterans Affairs Medical Center

Waqar A Qureshi, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology, American College of Physicians, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Francisco Talavera, PharmD, PhD  Adjunct Assistant Professor, University of Nebraska Medical Center College of Pharmacy; Editor-in-Chief, Medscape Drug Reference

Disclosure: Medscape Salary Employment

BS Anand, MD  Professor, Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, Baylor College of Medicine

BS Anand, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases, American College of Gastroenterology, American Gastroenterological Association, and American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Bruce Buehler, MD  Professor, Department of Pediatrics and Genetics, Director RSA, University of Nebraska Medical Center

Bruce Buehler, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American Academy for Cerebral Palsy and Developmental Medicine, American Academy of Pediatrics, American Association on Mental Retardation, American College of Medical Genetics, American College of Physician Executives, American Medical Association, and Nebraska Medical Association

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Chief Editor

Julian Katz, MD  Clinical Professor of Medicine, Drexel University College of Medicine

Julian Katz, MD is a member of the following medical societies: American College of Gastroenterology, American College of Physicians, American Gastroenterological Association, American Geriatrics Society, American Medical Association, American Society for Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, American Society of Law, Medicine & Ethics, American Trauma Society, Association of American Medical Colleges, and Physicians for Social Responsibility

Disclosure: Nothing to disclose.

Acknowledgments

The authors and editors of eMedicine gratefully acknowledge the contributions of previous authors Kathleen M Raynor, MD, Priyankha Balasundaram, MD, and Senthil Nachimuthu, MD, FACP, to the development and writing of the source articles.

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Colonoscopic image of a large ulcer and inflammation of the descending colon in a 12-year-old boy with Crohn disease.
Histologic features of chronic colitis with crypt atrophy and branching, and lymphocytic infiltrate. Hematoxylin-eosin staining. Courtesy of Dr E. Ruchelli.
Colonic granuloma in a patient with Crohn disease. Hematoxylin-eosin staining. Courtesy of Dr E. Ruchelli.
Postoperative photograph depicts the incisions used for laparoscopic ileocolectomy in a 14-year-old male adolescent with obstruction of the terminal ileum. Note the 2-cm incision in the right lower abdomen through which the specimen was extracted and the extracorporeal anastomosis performed. The 12-mm umbilical incision is nicely hidden in the depths of the umbilicus. A 5-mm incision is visible in the left lower abdomen, and another is in the left suprapubic region just above the top of the pants.
On this laparoscopic photograph, the mesentery of the terminal ileum is being coagulated with a sealing device (LigaSure; Valley Lab, Boulder, Colo). Note that the ligation of the mesentery proceeds near the border of the ileum rather than at the base of the mesentery.
Image obtained during upper GI series with a small bowel follow-through shows narrowing and irregularity in the distal ileum in a 16-year-old male adolescent with Crohn disease.
Crohn disease. Aphthous ulcers. Double-contrast barium enema examination in Crohn colitis demonstrates numerous aphthous ulcers.
Crohn disease. Crohn colitis. Double-contrast barium enema study demonstrates marked ulceration, inflammatory changes, and narrowing of the right colon
Crohn disease. Cobblestoning. Spot view of the terminal ileum from a small bowel follow-through study demonstrates linear longitudinal and transverse ulcerations that create a cobblestone appearance. Also, note the relatively greater involvement of the mesenteric side of the terminal ileum and the displacement of the involved loop away from the normal small bowel secondary to mesenteric inflammation and fibrofatty proliferation.
Crohn disease of the terminal ileum. Small bowel follow-through study demonstrates the string sign in the terminal ileum. Also, note pseudodiverticula of the antimesenteric wall of the terminal ileum, secondary to greater distensibility of this less-involved segment of the wall.
Crohn disease. Spot view of the terminal ileum from a small bowel follow-through study demonstrates the string sign, consistent with narrowing and stricturing. Also, note a sinus tract originating from the medial wall of the terminal ileum and the involvement of the medial wall of the cecum.
Crohn disease. Enterocolic fistula. Double-contrast barium enema study demonstrates multiple fistulous tracts between the terminal ileum and the right colon adjacent to the ileocecal valve, the so-called double-tracking of the ileocecal valve.
Crohn disease. Active small bowel inflammation. CT scan demonstrates small bowel wall thickening, mesenteric inflammatory stranding, and mesenteric adenopathy.
MRI of an inflamed terminal ileum in a 10-year-old girl with Crohn disease.
MRI of a small abscess on the right side of the anal sphincter in a 9-year-old boy with Crohn disease.
Table. Characteristics Differentiating Crohn Disease and Ulcerative Colitis
Characteristic
Crohn diseaseUlcerative colitis
DistributionEntire GI tractColon only, although gastritis recognized
Skip lesionsContinuous involvement proximally from rectum
PathologyFull thicknessMucosa only
Granulomas (30%)No granulomas
RadiologyEntire GI tractColon only
Skip lesionsContinuous involvement proximally from rectum
Fistulae, abscesses, fibrotic stricturesMucosal disease only
Cancer riskIncreasedEstimated 1% per year starting 10 years after diagnosis
Presentation
Crohn diseaseUlcerative colitis
BleedingOccasionalVery common
ObstructionCommonUncommon
FistulaCommonNone
Weight lossCommonUncommon
Perianal diseaseCommonRare
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