Enterocutaneous fistula as early presentation of Crohn's disease in an adult woman.
Crohn's disease is a chronic transmural inflammatory process that primarily affects the gastrointestinal tract, with several extra-intestinal manifestations. Though patients usually present with vague abdominal pain, initial presentation can be at an advanced stage or with extra-intestinal pathology. The authors report the case of a 59-year-old woman, who presented with a tubo-ovarian abscess that resulted in a protracted non-healing enterocutaneous fistula, which was eventually diagnosed as Crohn's disease approximately 2 years after initial presentation. Relevant literature is reviewed, as well as time-points where an earlier diagnosis could have been made thereby underscoring the importance of considering Crohn's Disease in a non-healing enterocutaneous fistula in an otherwise asymptomatic patient.
General Surgery Department, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota, USA. asgh0002@umn.edu
Javariah I
JI
Asghar
Jill
J
Crosby
Greg J
GJ
Beilman
D015746:Abdominal Pain / Q000175:diagnosis; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D003646:Debridement; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007077:Ileal Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D007081:Ileostomy; D007412:Intestinal Fistula / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000601:surgery; D008875:Middle Aged; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed