title: Crohn's disease with pelvic abscess appearing as lumbar disc herniation.
abstract: Crohn's disease (regional enteritis) is a chronic inflammatory disease of the bowel with well-documented clinical manifestations and complications. This report of a 35-year-old woman with Crohn's disease outlines the clinical presentation and studies illustrating "quiescent" regional enteritis. The patient was treated for one of the complications of this disease entity. She was referred to the orthopedic clinic with symptoms of lumbar disc syndrome, as well as a painful hip. Crohn's disease was diagnosed and assumed to be well controlled. Physical examination revealed a subgluteal abscess, ostensibly caused by Crohn's disease. The abscess fistulized through the greater sciatic notch. The capricious nature of this disease entity is self-evident.
mesh_terms: D000038:Abscess / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000209:etiology; D000328:Adult; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007405:Intervertebral Disc Displacement / Q000175:diagnosis*; D008159:Lumbar Vertebrae; D010388:Pelvis