Revista medico-chirurgicală̆ a Societă̆ţ̜ii de Medici ş̧i Naturaliş̧ti din Iaş̧i
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Rev Med Chir Soc Med Nat Iasi · Jan 2009
Case ReportsAcute idiopathic pancreatitis preceding diagnosis of Crohn's disease. Description of three cases.
Acute idiopathic pancreatitis seems to represent a rare extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn's disease usually appearing after the establishment of diagnosis of the intestinal disorder. The aim of this study was to describe the clinicoepidemiological characteristics and clinical course of three patients with Crohn's disease who developed acute idiopathic pancreatitis years before the establishment of diagnosis intestinal disease. ⋯ This case-series suggests that acute idiopathic pancreatitis could precede diagnosis of Crohn's disease. Clinicians must bear in mind the possibility of the existence of Crohn's disease when they are confronting a young patient with clinical and laboratory features of acute idiopathic pancreatitis.