Pathological Findings of Crohn's Disease in the Stomach

ABSTRACT

BACKGROUND: The incidence of Crohn's disease in the upper digestive tract, and especially in the stomach, is recently increasing. Focal inflammatory reaction without Helicobacter pylori (H. pylori) infection is thought to be the characteristic pathologic findings suggesting Crohn's disease in the stomach. Yet gastric involvement of Crohn's disease has not been studied in Korea. We studied the endoscopic and pathologic findings of patients with Crohn's disease in the stomach by taking biopsies. METHODS: Thirty patients with Crohn's disease who underwent gastroduodenoscopy followed by biopsies were included in the study. The pathology of the gastric biopsy specimens and the presence of H. pylori were evaluated. RESULTS: Among 30 cases, 22 cases (73.3%) were H. pylori negative and 8 cases (26.7%) were H. pylori positive. For the H. pylori negative cases, all but one cases showed pit abscess and focal lymphocytic collections in the antrum. Granulomas were found in 6 cases (20%) and they were exclusively located in the antrum. CONCLUSIONS: In the stomach, pit abscess and focal lymphocytic collections that are not associated with H. pylori infection are the characteristic pathologic findings found in Crohn's disease.