Definition:
Also known as Crohn's disease, regional enteritis is a chronic, episodic, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), believed to be autoimmune in origin.
Regional enteritis may affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus. Consequently, symptoms vary among afflicted patients.
Diagnosis:
Regional enteritis can be diagnosed through a simple physical exam, complete blood count, and stool sample analysis. Conducting barium x-rays as well as a colonoscopy and a biopsy may also help in diagnosis.
Treatment:
Unlike other major forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), there is no known medication or surgical treatment for regional enteritis. Therefore, treatment is mostly focused on symptom management; in particular, controlling the disease and preventing potential relapse.
Symptoms and Signs:
Symptoms of regional enteritis may manifest with gastrointestinal, systemic, or extraintestinal symptoms.
The leading gastrointestinal symptoms are pain in the abdomen, constipation, diarrhea, vomiting, rectal bleeding, stomach ulcers, gastrointestinal bleeding, and rapid weight loss or weight gain.
Systemic symptoms may come in the form of growth failure or growth retardation among children. In adults, regional enteritis may lead to severe weight loss because afflicted patients often lose their appetite.
In addition, regional enteritis can potentially affect other organ systems, resulting in extraintestinal symptoms.
In early stages, patients may exhibit with milder symptoms such as joint pain, fever, eye pain, mouth ulcers, abscess, and skin rashes.
Causes:
The cause of regional enteritis is currently unknown, although it is believed to be autoimmune in nature and genetically linked.
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