Crohn’s Disease Presenting with Acute Intestinal Obstruction in an Elderly

Abstract

Crohn’s disease is a component of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); the other component being ulcerative colitis. It is a chronic inflammatory disease involving different sites along the gastrointestinal tract and occasionally extra-intestinal sites.

Inflammatory bowel disease may be difficult to diagnose especially in the elderly as it may mimic other forms of colitis namely infective, ischaemic, diverticulosis and colitis associated with non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Patients with Crohn’s disease may present with complications such as acute intestinal obstruction, intestinal perforation, abscess and fistula formation that will require surgical intervention.

We present a 69- year- old man who presented with acute intestinal obstruction of the small bowel caused by Crohn’s disease that was treated by surgical resection and steroid therapy with good outcome.