If you have any anxiety symptoms that indicate a disturbance in the work of the gastrointestinal tract, you should immediately consult a specialist, since behind them, in addition to the usual intestinal frustration, you can hide quite terrible pathologies of these organs. When conducting a differential diagnosis, a doctor can detect a person with Crohn's disease, which has recently begun to appear more and more among inflammatory diseases of the digestive system of patients aged 20 to 40 years.
A timely study with suspected development of Crohn's disease in the patient is not only the basis for successful treatment, but also the best way to prevent possible critical consequences of the disease. Common to all WCD symptoms that require clarification of the diagnosis, the following are considered:
- Unreasonable weight loss;
- Decreased appetite;
- Significant skin rashes;
- Education in the oral cavity of sores;
- Violations of the stool with the appearance in it of blood mixed with purulent and mucous discharge;
- Sharp rubbing in the abdomen, which can be caused by stress.
The pathological changes in the gastrointestinal tract revealed during the diagnosis, conducted because of this symptom, can not accurately testify that the patient develops Crohn's disease, but they will be an alarm signal. In order to accurately establish the diagnosis, a differential method of investigation is required.
Visual Diagnosis of Crohn's Disease
During the diagnosis, a specialist can detect the following signs of this inflammatory pathology on the walls of the digestive organs:
- The mucous membrane is for the most part thickened;
- Granules are present in the intestinal wall;
- Abscesses may occur;
- Inflammation of the mucosa is transmural.
It can also be seen from the study that in Crohn's disease the superficial epithelium of the walls of the digestive organs is normal, and the pseudo-polyps that usually appear in the YaK are absent.
How is Crohn's disease diagnosed?
A differential study capable of detecting this pathology among multiple manifestations of IBD begins with a conversation with the doctor, during which the specialist can collect the most complete information on the nature of the disease and determine the alleged cause of its occurrence. This will help to make a list of negative factors that could affect the development of pathology, and recommend the patient for successful treatment to exclude them from their lives.
The second stage in the diagnosis of Crohn's disease is a primary examination. As a result of it, there are noticeable external changes corresponding to this pathology, such as swollen abdomen and skin rashes. And with the help of the performed palpation it is possible to detect in the projection of the digestive organs of a zone of increased sensitivity or soreness. Only after this, the patient will be assigned a laboratory examination, as well as endoscopy and fluoroscopy.
Crohn's Disease Test
When a patient has symptoms that may indicate a possible development of Crohn's disease, a primary test can be performed that shows the percentage of the likelihood of this particular pathology occurring in the digestive organs.
This test is not a diagnostic study conducted with this disease, so in case of the slightest doubt in its results, it is necessary to contact a specialist. In order to identify the patient with the greatest accuracy, it is necessary to conduct concomitant analyzes, since the symptomatology of this pathological inflammation is similar to other diseases of the digestive tract.
The diagnosis of Crohn's disease can be made only on the basis of endoscopic( biopsy results) and laboratory studies, examinations and disease-relevant indications in the medical history. The results of any test is only a prerequisite for contacting the gastroenterologist.
Analyzes for Crohn's Disease
To determine how deeply the general changes in the patient's body have developed in the development of this pathology of the digestive organs, as well as the presence of antibodies indicative of the developing disease, the specialist is assigned mandatory laboratory tests that include the following:
- General and biochemical blood test,which can show such signs of this disease as an increase in the rate of erythrocyte sedimentation and the number of leukocytes, as well as a decrease in hemoglobin. These diagnostic results indicate that there is a pathological process in the body that, with a certain probability, may be Crohn's disease. In addition, the analysis carried out can reveal the onset of the acute phase of the disease by the presence of C-reactive protein;
- Immunological examination of blood is carried out in order to distinguish among the various types of antibodies in it cytoplasmic antineutrophil antibodies;
- An obligatory analysis for Crohn's disease is the conduct of biochemical tests that allow to determine the presence of alkaline phosphatase and the growth of hepatic transaminases.
Colonoscopy in Crohn's disease
In addition to laboratory tests performed by taking the necessary biomaterial from the patient for analysis and testing, diagnostic procedures such as fluoroscopy and colonoscopy should be performed, which allow to determine the presence of this inflammatory pathology with the greatest accuracy.
The best procedure for diagnosing Crohn's disease is a colonoscopy, since it has a serious advantage that allows a specialist to conduct a study of the intestine for the presence of pathology, and immediately take a piece of tissue for histology with a biopsy. And this allows us to identify with the greatest accuracy the onset of malignancy of inflammation.
Differential Diagnosis for Crohn's Disease
Because this disease has clinical signs similar to other IBD, only ordinary methods of investigation are not able to determine this pathology completely. For this reason, when suspicion of the disease is used differential diagnosis of Crohn's disease. It allows you to exclude similar in manifestations of the disease of the gastrointestinal tract.
With the help of differential research, it becomes possible to exclude diseases such as sarcoidosis and tuberculosis, Behcet's disease, radiation and infectious colitis, gallstones and some other diseases. The most difficult in applying these methods is the diagnosis of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
These pathologies have practically no differences, so it is often difficult to distinguish them even by a specialist. With these inflammatory diseases, there are cases when the exact diagnosis is made only during the treatment of the patient due to complications or an inadequate response of the body to certain medications.