Yeungnam Univ J Med.  2008 Dec;25(2):139-144.

Pediatric Crohn's Disease presenting as Severe Constipation and Abdominal Distension

Affiliations
  • 1Department of Pediatrics, College of Medicine, Yeungnam University, Daegu, Korea. ckh@med.yu.ac.kr

Abstract

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that mainly affects children and young adults. Its cause remains unknown. The incidence of pediatric Crohn's disease is increasing, so it is important for clinicians to be aware of the presentation of this disease in the pediatric population. The majority of patients complain of abdominal pain (72%), with only 25% presenting with the 'classical triad' of abdominal pain, weight loss, and diarrhea. Many children with Crohn's disease present in a 'non-classical' manner, with vague complaints such as lethargy or anorexia, which may be associated with only mild abdominal discomfort. Other symptoms include fever, nausea, vomiting, growth retardation, malnutrition, delayed puberty, psychiatric symptoms, arthropathy, and erythema nodosum. Severe constipation and abdominal distension are uncommon symptoms at diagnosis. We report a case of pediatric Crohn's disease, which was diagnosed after the patient presented with severe constipation and abdominal distension.

Keyword

Crohn's disease; Constipation; Pediatric; Abdominal distension

MeSH Terms

Abdominal Pain
Anorexia
Child
Constipation
Crohn Disease
Diarrhea
Erythema Nodosum
Fever
Humans
Incidence
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
Lethargy
Malnutrition
Nausea
Puberty, Delayed
Vomiting
Weight Loss
Young Adult
Crohn Disease
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