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Diagnosing Crohns
Disease - A Mighty Challenge
A
disease in disguise, one that mimics other
gastrointestinal diseases and a difficult
challenge for healthcare providers,
diagnosing Crohn's disease is most certainly
a difficult task for healthcare providers.
Because it mimics so many other diseases,
Crohn's disease may initially be
misdiagnosed as another G.I. ailments.
Symptoms absolutely vary from person to
person and there are no strict guidelines
for physicians to follow that definitively
point to a diagnosis of Crohn's disease.
Therein lies the challenge. There is not one
absolute test that your health care provider
can use in diagnosing Crohn's disease
definitively and so diagnosing Crohn's
disease becomes a bit of a puzzle.
There are several medical procedures that
can be performed that can help either to
rule out or to confirm Crohn's disease. One
of the easiest and least expensive and least
invasive tests is an examination of a stool
sample.
By examining the stool sample your medical
provider can determine whether the diarrhea
and bowel disturbances that you are
experiencing are associated with
inflammation or are the result of an
infection. In the case of Crohn's disease,
inflammation of the G.I. tract presents
itself as if there is an infection but there
is no infection present. So you can see by
obtaining a simple stool sample several
possibilities can easily be ruled out.
Your health care
provider may also select to do a group of
standardized blood tests such as a complete
blood count to check for signs of infection
and anemia related to blood loss, a
colonoscopy, a barium enema, a flexible
sigmoidoscopy, a small bowel x-ray study, a
capsule endoscopy, or even a CT scan of the
abdomen.
If your blood work shows that anemia is
present then Crohn's disease may be a
possible diagnosis. If your blood work shows
that an infection is present then that piece
of the puzzle would point to the fact that
Crohn's disease is not likely.
So you should already be able to see how
difficult diagnosing Crohn's disease can be.
However, just like putting the pieces of a
puzzle together your physician should keep
on going until a definitive diagnosis is
made. You are worth it.
A further review of your symptoms may
indicate bloody diarrhea and even rectal
bleeding. With excessive blood loss your
blood work may show signs of anemia. So,
here's another piece of the puzzle, if you
are anemic it is possible that you are in
route to a definitive diagnosis of Crohn's
disease.
Your physician may also elect to perform a
colonoscopy.
This procedure is generally done by a
gastroenterologist trained in the procedure.
After a stringent bowel prep prior to the
exam, your physician and a will insert a
flexible lighted tube with an attached
camera through your rectum and into the
colon to check for any evidence of Crohn's
disease.
It is important to remember with any medical
procedure and there are risks associated
with it. Risk associated with a colonoscopy
include G.I. bleeding and perforation of the
colon wall. It is also wise to remember that
Crohn's disease may only be evident in the
small intestine and not the colon and so in
this case a colonoscopy would be completely
and totally ineffective in diagnosing
Crohn's disease.
Another medical exam that your physician may
order is a flexible sigmoidoscopy. This
exam, similar to the colonoscopy, occurs
when your physician inserts a long tube into
the rectum; however, this tube does not
contain a camera. Your physician would use
the lighted tube to look at the inside of
the last 2 feet of the colon to see if there
are any signs of Crohn's disease so that a
definitive diagnosis could be made.
The downfall of the flexible sigmoidoscopy
is that it only looks at the last 2 feet of
the colon and so if the evidence of Crohn's
disease is located higher up in the colon
then this exam is useless.
So diagnosing Crohn's disease is much like
putting the pieces of a giant puzzle
together, but your physician should be well
trained in the research and proper placement
of all the puzzle pieces so that you can get
a quick and accurate diagnosis.
Because it mimics so many other diseases
diagnosing Crohn's disease can be a
challenge. However, it is a challenge that
is certainly worth undertaking so that you
can get back to being a healthy you.
See Also:
Common Crohns Disease Symptoms
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