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Question

A 40 year old female patient presents with colicky abdominal pain associated with episodes of mild diarrhoea for last 6 months accompanied with intermittent fever and weight loss. There are multiple discharging sinuses on perineal examination. The most likely clinical diagnosis in this patient is:

The correct answer is
Crohn disease

The clinical presentation suggests a chronic inflammatory condition. Key features include:

  • Colicky abdominal pain
  • Mild diarrhoea
  • Intermittent fever
  • Weight loss
  • Multiple discharging sinuses on perineal examination

Clinical Diagnosis Reasoning

The combination of chronic gastrointestinal symptoms (pain, diarrhoea, weight loss, fever) along with specific extra-intestinal manifestations like perineal sinuses strongly points towards Crohn disease.

Differential Diagnosis Comparison

Let's analyze why other options are less likely:

  • Amoebic colitis: Typically presents more acutely with dysentery. Chronic symptoms and perineal sinuses are uncommon.
  • Ulcerative colitis: Primarily causes bloody diarrhoea and usually affects the colon. Perianal disease, especially draining sinuses, is less frequent compared to Crohn disease.
  • Ileocaecal Tuberculosis: Can mimic Crohn disease symptoms (pain, weight loss, fever), particularly in the ileocaecal region. However, multiple discharging perineal sinuses are a hallmark feature much more characteristic of Crohn disease than Tuberculosis.
  • Crohn disease: This chronic inflammatory bowel disease can affect any part of the GI tract (often ileocaecal region) and is well-known for causing transmural inflammation, leading to symptoms like abdominal pain, diarrhoea, fever, and weight loss. Crucially, it frequently involves perianal complications, including fissures, fistulas, and abscesses, which manifest as discharging sinuses. This diagnosis aligns best with all the presented clinical features.

Therefore, based on the chronic GI symptoms and the significant finding of multiple discharging perineal sinuses, Crohn disease is the most likely clinical diagnosis.

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Important Questions from Intestines

  1. An eight month old male child is brought to the emergency with recurrent episodes of screaming and drawing up of legs. The child appears to be listless in between the attacks. Local examination of abdomen reveals feeling of emptiness in the right iliac fossa and blood stained mucus is found on the finger on per rectal examination. The most probable clinical diagnosis in this child is
  2. Which of the following statements regarding Ogilvie's syndrome are correct? 

    1. It presents as acute large bowel mechanical obstruction 

    2. Marked caecal dilatation is a common feature on X-ray abdo- men 

    3. Caecal perforation is a well recog- nized complication of this condi- tion 

    4. Intravenous Neostigmine is used for the treatment of this condition 

    Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  3. In familial adenomatous polyposis, which of the following all are true ? 

    1. Presence of $>100$ colorectal polyps 

    2. Positive family history 

    3. Autosomal Recessive inheritance 

    4. Genetic mutation on Chromo- some 5 

    Select the correct answer using the code given below :

  4. Among the extra intestinal manifesta- tions of Crohn's disease which one of the following is related to the disease activity?
  5. Which of the following statements with regard to Enteric perforation are correct? 

    1. Salmonella typhi is the causative organism for Enteric fever 

    2. Enteric perforation characteristi- cally occurs during third week of illness 

    3. Typhoid ulcers are placed trans- versely to the long axis of the gut 

    4. Terminal ileum is the most common site for enteric perfora- tion 

    Select the correct answer using the code given below :

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