title: Clinical features of Crohn's disease in Korean patients residing in Busan and Gyeongnam.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that presents with variable features and repeated disease aggravation. The incidence of CD is increasing in Korea. We evaluated the clinical features of CD in a study population in Busan and Gyeongnam, Korea.
  
  
  METHODS
  A hospital-based analysis included 619 patients diagnosed with CD between March 1986 and February 2013 from seven tertiary care hospitals in Busan and Gyeongnam. Individual case records were reviewed with regard to age at diagnosis, sex, disease location, disease behavior, and medical and surgical treatments received during the follow-up period.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The cumulative frequency of patients diagnosed with CD revealed a continued increase in the number of cases reported yearly. The male-to-female ratio was 2.5:1 and the median age at diagnosis was 24 years. At diagnosis, 114 (18.4%) had isolated small bowel disease, 144 (23.3%) had isolated colonic disease, and 358 patients (57.8%) presented with disease in the small bowel and colon. The number of patients presenting with stricturing or penetrating disease behavior was 291 (47%) at the final evaluation. In total, 111 (17.9%) patients underwent intestinal resections.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  A continued increase in the number of patients diagnosed with CD was found in Busan and Gyeongnam as observed in other regions. We report results similar to that of other Korean studies in terms of sex distribution, age, and location of disease.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Eun Ji
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Tae Oh
authors.initials: TO
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Geun Am
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Dong-A University Medical Center, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Hun
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Pusan National University School of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyung Wook
authors.initials: HW
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, BusanPaik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Sam Ryong
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Jee
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Kosin University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Seun Ja
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, Gyeongsang National University School of Medicine, Jinju, Korea.
authors.forename: Hyun Jin
authors.initials: HJ
authors.lastname: Kim
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Haeundae Paik Hospital, Inje University College of Medicine, Busan, Korea.
authors.forename: Jong Ha
authors.initials: JH
authors.lastname: Park
keywords: Clinical features; Crohn disease; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Intestinal resection