Abstract

MERINO-GALLEGO, Esther; GALLARDO-SANCHEZ, Francisco  and  GALLEGO-ROJO, Francisco-Javier. Intestinal tuberculosis and Crohn's disease: the importance and difficulty of a differential diagnosis. Rev. esp. enferm. dig. [online]. 2018, vol.110, n.10, pp.650-657. ISSN 1130-0108.  https://dx.doi.org/10.17235/reed.2018.5184/2017.

Tuberculosis (TB) is the most prevalent infection worldwide and affects one third of the population, predominantly in developing countries. Intestinal TB (ITB) is the sixth most frequent extra-pulmonary TB infection. Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease that arises from the interaction of immunological, environmental and genetic factors. Due to changes in the epidemiology of both diseases, distinguishing CD from ITB is a challenge, particularly in immunocompromised patients and those from areas where TB is endemic. Furthermore, both TB and CD have a predilection for the ileocecal area. In addition, they share very similar clinical, radiological and endoscopic findings. An incorrect diagnosis and treatment may increase morbidity and mortality. Thus, a great degree of caution is required as well as a familiarity with certain characteristics of the diseases, which will aid the differentiation between the two diseases.

Keywords : Intestinal tuberculosis; Crohn's disease; Differential diagnosis.

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