Successful Primary Infliximab Treatment of Orofacial Crohn's Disease without Gastrointestinal Manifestation / 대한소화기학회지

ABSTRACT

Crohn's disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that can involve the whole gastrointestinal tract. The orofacial manifestation of Crohn's disease, which is rare, can develop irrespective of intestinal involvement. These orofacial lesions are often misdiagnosed as simple oral ulcers. Corticosteroids are the mainstay of therapy for orofacial Crohn's disease. However, infliximab, the chimeric monoclonal antibody to tumor necrosis factor-alpha, is now considered as a primary treatment because of the disease's relatively high rate of steroid resistance. We present a case of deep oral ulcer and periorbital swelling in a 65-year-old woman. She was diagnosed with intestinal Crohn's disease 7 years ago, which was in remission after treatment with an immunosuppressive agent (azathioprine). The patient was given the diagnosed with orofacial Crohn's disease and successfully treated with infliximab.