Celiac sprue and Crohn's disease: an association causing severe growth retardation.
Celiac sprue and Crohn's disease have very rarely been documented in the same patient. We report a case involving an adolescent male with known Crohn's disease who had extreme wasting, growth retardation, intractable diarrhea, and delay in development of secondary sexual characteristics. Peroral jejunal biopsy showed a nonspecific flat mucosal lesion compatible with celiac sprue. An 8.0-kg weight increase occurred within 4 weeks of institution of a gluten-free diet. Jejunal rebiopsy documented significant improvement with a mild to moderate villous abnormality. After 2 years on a gluten-free diet, a rebiopsy of the jejunum documented only a mild villous abnormality.
D000328:Adult; D001706:Biopsy; D002446:Celiac Disease / Q000150:complications* / Q000178:diet therapy / Q000473:pathology; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications*; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology; D006130:Growth Disorders / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D007421:Intestine, Small / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male