Tracheal Involvement in Crohn Disease: the First Case in Korea

ABSTRACT

Respiratory involvement in Crohn disease (CD) is rare condition with only about a dozen reported cases. We report the first case of CD with tracheal involvement in Korea. An 18-year-old woman with CD was hospitalized because of coughing, dyspnea, and fever sustained for 3 weeks. Because she had stridor in her neck, we performed computed tomography of the neck, which showed circumferential wall thickening of the larynx and hypopharynx. Bronchoscopy revealed mucosal irregularity, ulceration, and exudates debris in the proximal trachea, and bronchial biopsy revealed chronic inflammation with granulation tissue. Based on these findings, we suspected CD with tracheal involvement and began administering intravenous methylprednisolone at 1 mg/kg per day, after which her symptoms and bronchoscopic findings improved.