A Case of Crohn's Disease Isolated to the Appendix, Presented with Weight Loss / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Granulomatous appendicitis is a rare condition that accounts for less than 0.1~0.2% of all the cases of appendicitis. The great majority of cases are subacute or recurrent appendicitis and they are treated with interval appendectomy. The remaining causes include Yersinia infection, foreign body reaction, infection by mycobacteria, fungi or parasites, and Crohn's disease isolated to the appendix. Crohn's disease isolated to the appendix has several characteristics such as slow progression, a low recurrence rate and a good prognosis. Crohn's disease isolated to the appendix has recently been called "Idiopathic Granulomatous Appendicitis", and some authors have tried to distinguish it from Crohn's disease involving the appendix. We experienced a case of isolated appendiceal Crohn's disease in a 39-year-old woman and we report on it here along with a review of relevant literature.

Idiopathic Granulomatous Appendicitis: A case report

Crohn's disease is a chronic condition characterized by a non-specific granulomatous necrosis involving potentially any location in the alimentary tract, but a primary lesion confined to the appendix alone is very rare. It is difficult to discriminate Crohn's appendicitis from acute appendicitis preoperatively because of their clinical similarities. Because Crohn's disease confined to the appendix has a more favorable prognosis than typical Crohn's disease, it is considered a separate disease from Crohn's disease. Recently, the term idiopathic granulomatous appendicitis has gained wide acceptance as a distinct disease entity. We experienced a case of Crohn's disease giving rise to appendicitis or idiopathic granulomatous appendicitis and report a case with a review of the literature.

A Case of Crohn's Disease Confined to the Appendix / 대한소화기내시경학회지

Crohn's disease is a condition of chronic inflammation involving potentially any location in alimentary tract, but it is worldwide the rare when primary lesion with its extent is confined to the appendix alone. Because clinical manifestations of the Crohn's disease of the appendix dose not differ from those of acute appendicitis, it is difficult to diagnose preoperatively or intraoperatively, so it is usually diagnosed by postoperative pathologic examination. Because Crohn's disease confined to the appendix has favorable prognosis than typical Crohn's disease, it is considered a separate disease entity from Crohn's disease, and a new diagnostic term-"idiopathic granulomatous appendicitis"-has gained wide acceptance in recent years. We experienced a case of Crohn's disease confined to the appendix or idiopathic granulomatous appendicitis and review, we reported the care with review of the literatures.

Isolated Crohn's Disease of Appendix: Is It Crohn's Disease or Idiopathic Granulomatous Appendicitis? Report of a case and review of the literature

A case of isolated Crohn's disease of appendix is reported. It is a rare disease which commonly mimics the symptoms of acute appendicitis. Review of 221 identical cases previously reported in the world literature revealed slight male predominance(1.17:1) and peak age of incidence in the third decade(24.3 yrs). In contrast to typical Crohn's disease, the rate of postoperative fistula and recurrence was minimal; 1.0% and 3.8%, respectively. Due to these differences, many consider it to be a separate disease entity from Crohn, and a new diagnostic term - "Idiopathic Granulomatous Appendicitis" - has gained wide acceptance in recent years.