Small intestinal Crohn's

The affects of Crohn's disease on the small intestine include:

• mouth ulcers:
  • apthous ulcers are common in active disease
  • rarely, there are oropharyngeal Crohn's ulcers
• duodenal Crohn's ulcers:
  • these are usually postbulbar and are very rare
  • associated with a high ESR
• fibrotic stricture is suggested by colicky abdominal pain without systemic illness or localised tenderness
• malabsorption:
  • rarely occurs unless there is widespread disease
  • malabsorption of vitamin B12 will occur if 80cm or more of the distal ileum is diseased
  • protein enteropathy rarely results in widespread oedema
• small intestinal disease will often be accompanied by an abdominal mass, most often in the right iliac fossa and doughy in consistency
• extraintestinal manifestations are rarer with small intestinal than with colonic Crohn's disease