Crohn's Disease: A Review of 122 Cases

Abstract

Of 122 patients with Crohn''s disease, 37 had disease confined to small bowel, 37 to colon and 48 had combined small and large bowel involvement. The disease was twice as common in females as in males. Pain was the major symptom in patients with small bowel disease and was associated with diarrhea if both small and large bowel were involved. Disease confined to the colon most commonly produced diarrhea with bleeding. Perianal disease occurred more often in patients with colonic disease. Systemic complications were also more frequent in the group with disease confined to colon, and these complications were often multiple. Medical treatment with corticosteroids, salazopyrine or azathioprine, was generally unsuccessful. One in 2 patients required surgery, usually in the form of resection. Following resection, recurrence occurred in more than 1/2 of the patients but was less frequent in those with colonic disease. Of patients with a recurrence, 3/4 required a further resection, emphasizing the unsatisfactory long-term results of surgery in this disease.