Crohn’s Disease

What is Crohn's disease

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that usually involves the lower part of the small intestine and/or large intestine (colon), though it may involve any part of gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms may include abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, weight loss, fever, joint pain and rashes. In children, it can cause developmental delay and failure to grow.

Diagnosing Crohn's disease

At the IBD program, we offer state-of-the-art diagnostic services to determine if your child has Crohn’s disease. In addition to a complete medical history and physical examination, these services may include blood or stool tests, endoscopies or colonoscopies with biopsies, and magnetic resonance enterography.

Treating Crohn's disease

Though there is no cure for Crohn’s disease, there are highly effective treatments which allow most children with these diseases to feel well and have excellent outcomes. We offer multidisciplinary therapeutic services that can help manage symptoms and improve your child’s quality of life. These may include a personalized pharmacotherapy plan, surgery when needed, or an appointment with a dietician to set up a nutritional plan. These services may also include meetings with psychologists and social workers to help with any social and emotional problems that may be caused by Crohn’s disease.

Because symptoms are similar, Crohn’s disease can sometimes be confused with ulcerative colitis. However, ulcerative colitis can only affect the large intestine, or colon, and it affects the intestines in slightly different ways.

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