A case of rather typical Crohn's disease in a 10 year old girl is described. She had suffered from intractable abdominal pain, diarrhea and fever for 1 year. Eventual right hemicolectomy revealed diffuse involvement of terminal ileum, cecum and ascending colon by confluent ulcerations and transmural inflammation. Histologically there were numerous well developed non-caseating granulomas scattered transmurally and in regional lymph nodes. Deep penetrating ulcerations were characteristic. Acid fast staining failed to demonstrate any organism. The rarity of Crohn's disease in Korea and this occurrence in pediatric age prompted this report.
Child ; Colitis/pathology ; Crohn Disease/diagnosis/*pathology ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Female ; Granuloma/pathology ; Humans ; Ileitis/pathology ; Intestines/pathology

PURPOSE:Benign anorectal disease will often cause great concern to the patient and the practitioner about a more proximal colon pathology. The aim of this study is to evaluate the significance of routine colonoscopy for patients with benign anorectal disease. METHODS:A retrospective analysis of 108 patients with benign anorectal disease who had undergone colonoscopic examination from April 1997 to August 1998 at Gil Medical Center was done. RESULTS:The mean age of all patients was 43 years; the male-to-female ratio was 1:1.1. The diagnoses of anorectal disease were hemorrhoids in 84 cases, anal fissures in 13 cases, chronic anal pain syndrome in 6 cases, anorectal fistulas in 5 cases, and other in 9 cases. There were 37 patients (34.3%) with 53 abnormal findings:14 tubular adenomas, 11 inflammatory polyps, 4 hyperplastic polyps, 1 tuberculous colitis, 1 angiodysplasia, 6 diverticula, 6 nonspecific ileitis or colitis, 2 melanosis coli, 2 rectal ulcers, 2 ileal ulcers, and 3 other diseases. Among them, clinically significant lesions, such as neoplastic lesion, tuberculous colitis and angiodysplasia, were detected in 12 patients (11.1%). Because the lesions in 7 patients of the 12 patients were within the reach of sigmoidoscopy, only 5 patients (4.6%) needed a colonoscopic examination. In regard to neoplasms, patients presenting with anal bleeding and old age were not found to have a higher frequency of neoplasia. Also, the specific type of anorectal disease was not associated with an increased risk for colorectal neoplasia (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS:Sigmoidoscopy is a more acceptable primary diagnostic tool in patients with benign anorectal disease, but in patients with gastrointestinal symptoms, a high risk for colorectal cancer, suspicious inflammatory bowel disease, or fear of cancer, selective colonoscopy will be needed.
Adenoma ; Angiodysplasia ; Colitis ; Colon ; Colonoscopy* ; Colorectal Neoplasms ; Diagnosis ; Diverticulum ; Fistula ; Hemorrhage ; Hemorrhoids ; Humans ; Ileitis ; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases ; Melanosis ; Pathology ; Polyps ; Retrospective Studies ; Sigmoidoscopy ; Ulcer

Chronic non-granulomatous jejunoileitis is a rare disease characterized by malabsorption, abdominal pain, and diarrhea that causes shallow ulcers in the small bowel. The etiology of chronic non-granulomatous jejunolieitis remains unknown. A 69-year-old man complained of abdominal pain and lower extremity edema. A 99m-Tc albumin scan showed increased radioactivity at the left upper quadrant, suggesting protein-losing enteropathy. A small bowel follow-through did not disclose any lesions. Wireless capsule endoscopy revealed several small bowel ulcers and strictures. A jejunoileal segmentectomy with end-to-end anastomosis was performed, and the histologic examination revealed non-granulomatous ulcers with focal villous atrophy. Ruling out all other possible diagnoses, we diagnosed our patient with chronic non-granulomatous ulcerative jejunoileitis. Postoperatively, the patient's abdominal pain and lower extremity edema improved, and the serum albumin normalized. This is the first case of chronic non-granulomatous ulcerative jejunoileitis localized by wireless capsule endoscopy and treated successfully with segment resection.
Abdominal Pain/etiology ; Aged ; Atrophy/diagnosis/etiology ; Capsule Endoscopy ; Chronic Disease ; Diagnosis, Differential ; Humans ; Ileitis/*diagnosis/pathology ; Intestine, Small/pathology ; Jejunal Diseases/*diagnosis/pathology ; Malabsorption Syndromes/diagnosis/pathology ; Male ; Mastectomy, Segmental ; Protein-Losing Enteropathies/diagnosis ; Technetium Tc 99m Aggregated Albumin/diagnostic use ; Ulcer/pathology