Authors: Koltun Walter A
Publish Date: 2007/03/01
Volume: 13, Issue: 3, Pages: 359-361
Abstract
A clear cause and cure for Crohns disease CD continues to elude caregivers and researchers alike much to the frustration of these frequently youthful and usually very symptomatic patients The experienced clinician recognizes that he or she is frequently treating only the complications of CD and not the disease itself Thus drugs are used to quell mucosal inflammation and to treat foci of sepsis fistuli and abscesses without knowing what is actually causing the inflammation or abscessesOne of the most symptomatic of CD complications is intestinal obstruction brought about by either severe inflammation compromising the lumen of the bowel or a fibrotic stricture the result of “burnt out” inflammation and scarring Such bowel obstruction can present as an acute emergency but more often is manifest as recurrent crampy abdominal pain aggravated by oral intake especially of highfiber foods Twenty
Keywords: