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RESEARCH PRODUCT

Clinical Presentation of Crohn’s Disease

subject

description

Crohn’s disease is an idiopathic chronic inflammatory disease of the gut, which may involve the entire gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the perianal area, though preferring in most cases the distal small bowel and the proximal large bowel. Its heterogeneous nature is reflected in a number of different phenotypes. Approximately 80 % of patients have small bowel involvement, usually in the distal ileum, with one-third of patients having exclusively ileitis. Approximately 50 % of patients have ileocolitis which refers to involvement of both the ileum and colon. From 20 to 25 % of patients have disease confined to the colon. Involvement of the esophagus, stomach, or duodenum is rare and almost always seen in association with disease of the more distal small bowel or large bowel. Approximately one-third of patients have perianal disease.