Remission of refractory metastatic Crohn's disease achieved with dapsone (original) (raw)

CROHN'S DISEASE AND EXTRA INTESTINAL GRANULOMATOUS LESIONS

F.C. and A.L. share last authorship Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease with a multifactorial etiology. Clinical features include mucosal erosion, diarrhea, weight loss and other complications such as formation of granuloma. In CD, granuloma is a non-neoplastic epithelioid lesion, formed by a compact aggregate of histiocytes with the absence of a central necrosis, however, the correlation among CD and the formation of granulomas is unknown. Many cases of granulomas in the extracellular site, related to CD, have been reported in the literature. These granulomas, at times, represented the only visible manifestation of the pathology. Extra intestinal granulomas have been found on ovaries, lungs, male genitalia, female genitalia, orofacial regions and skin. From the data in the literature it could be hypothesized that there is a cross-reaction of the immune system with similar antigenic epitopes belonging to different sites. This hypothesis, if checked, can place CD not only among inflammatory bowel disease but also among inflammatory diseases with systemic involvement. Crohn's disease (CD) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by a chronic inflammatory process. The etiology of CD is multifactorial and involves a combination of genetic and environmental factors. The set of these factors generates a condition known as dysbiosis that, by altering the eubiotic equilibrium of the intestinal flora, leads to a continuous and massive activation of the lymphoid tissue associated with the intestine (GALT) (1, 2), and the establishment of a chronic inflammatory state, characterized by the release of various chemical mediators of inflammation, such as heat shock proteins (HSP) (2, 3). CD involves the entire gastrointestinal tract from the mouth to the anus and manifests itself with clinical features including mucosal erosion, mucus-bloody ulcers, diarrhea, weight loss, and abdominal pain (1-3). Among the complications of the disease, the most important are predisposition to dysplasia and colorectal cancer (due to the generation by TNF-alpha of a metaplasic alteration of the genetic material of the enterocyte and/or colonocyte), visceral stenosis and onset of granulomas (4). This article focuses on the general

Cutaneous Crohn's disease: ‘metastatic Crohn's is a misnomer’

Journal of the European Academy of Dermatology and Venereology, 1999

Cost effectiveness in testing for sensitization in cases of leg ulcers To the Editor: In the literature the frequency of sensitization in subjects with leg ulcers is reported to range from 14 to 84% [14]. We did patch tests on 34 consecutive subjects (13 males and 21 females, mean age 71 years, range 42-87), with leg ulcers (24

Metastatic Crohn's disease despite infliximab therapy

Anais brasileiros de dermatologia, 2017

Metastatic Crohn's disease is a rare extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn's disease. It is characterized by polymorphic skin lesions formed by non-caseating granulomas located on anatomical sites distant from the gastrointestinal tract. We report a rare case of metastatic Crohn's disease, simultaneously displaying multiple clinically heterogeneous cutaneous lesions, in a patient with previously diagnosed Crohn's disease in remission due to anti-TNF-α use. This case highlights the need for high clinical suspicion and early biopsy in the setting of a patient with Crohn's disease and persistent skin lesions, even under biologic therapy. Furthermore, it reinforces the need of monitoring of the serum level of infliximab, increasing the dose in case it is low or undetectable.

Significance of granulomas in the outcomes of Crohn’s disease patients

Annals of Gastroenterology

Background The presence of granulomas in the gastrointestinal (GI) tract is one of the characteristic histologic features of Crohn's disease (CD). The clinical significance of granulomas remains unclear. In this study, we aimed to determine whether the presence of granulomas on endoscopic pinch biopsy or surgical resection from the upper or lower GI tract is associated with worse outcomes among patients with CD. Methods This was a retrospective chart review of patients with CD evaluated at a tertiary care center between 1996 and 2019. Patients were divided into 2 groups based on the presence or absence of granulomas on GI histology. Clinical and laboratory data, and outcomes of interest, were obtained from the electronic medical records. Patients' characteristics and outcomes were compared between the 2 groups. Results A total of 237 patients were included in our study; 41 (17.3%) had granulomas on their biopsy/resection specimen. The presence of granulomas in the GI tract was significantly associated with the development of intra-abdominal abscesses and/or fistulas (P=0.037), greater utilization of immunomodulators (P=0.029), and greater use of immunosuppressive medications (immunomodulator and/or biologic therapy) (P=0.015). No significant differences were found between the 2 groups in terms of number of hospitalizations, presence of perianal disease, intestinal resection, mean age, mean age at initial diagnosis of CD, duration of disease, sex, or smoking history. Conclusions The presence of granulomas in the GI tract of CD patients may serve as a prognostic biomarker of worse disease severity. Larger studies are needed to better validate this finding.

Mucocutaneous manifestations in inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 2009

Background: The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and features of the major cutaneous manifestations (erythema nodosum [EN] and pyoderma gangrenosum [PG]) and to determine the associations between cutaneous manifestations and other extraintestinal manifestations in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).Methods: The mucocutaneous manifestations of patients with IBD were studied between December 2002 and June 2007. All patients underwent a detailed whole body examination by a gastroenterologist and dermatologist.Results: In all, 352 patients were included in this study; 34 patients (9.3%) presented with at least 1 major cutaneous manifestation. The prevalence of EN (26 patients) and PG (8 patients) in IBD was 7.4% and 2.3%, respectively. EN was more common in Crohn's disease (16/118) than ulcerative colitis (10/234) (P = 0.002). EN was found to be related to disease activity of the bowel (P = 0.026). The prevalence of arthritis was significantly higher in the IBD patients with EN (11/26) than in IBD patients without EN (53/326) (P = 0.006). Arthritis was more common in IBD patients with PG (7/8) than in IBD patients without PG (57/344) (P = 0.00). IBD patients with PG were significantly more likely to have uveitis (1/8) compared with IBD patients without PG (5/344) (P = 0.017).Conclusions: We found the prevalence of 2 important cutaneous manifestations to be 9.3% in IBD in Turkish patients. EN was found to be more common in Crohn's disease and is associated with an active episode of bowel disease and peripheral arthritis. In addition, PG was connected with uveitis and peripheral arthritis.(Inflamm Bowel Dis 2009)

Cutaneous manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease

Inflammatory Bowel Diseases, 1998

Skin lesions are associated with inflammatory bowel disease in up to one third of patients with ulcerative colitis and a50% of patients with Crohn's disease (1). This article reviews several of the cutaneous manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease including pyoderma gangrenosum and pustular eruptions, erythema nodosum, aphthous stomatitis, disorders of coagulation, metastatic Crohn' s disease, and perianal and peristomal lesions.

Expert review of gastroenterology & hepatology, 2017

Skin manifestations are common in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) and can be part of a concomitant illness with a shared genetic background, an extra-intestinal manifestation of the disease, or a drug side-effect. Areas covered: We provide a practical overview of the epidemiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis, therapeutic approach and prognosis of the most frequent disease-related and drug-induced cutaneous manifestations in IBD, illustrated by cases encountered in our clinical practice. Among the most frequently encountered IBD-related lesions are erythema nodosum, pyoderma gangrenosum and Sweet's syndrome. Common skin manifestations with a strong association to TNF antagonists are local injection site reactions, psoriasiform lesions, cutaneous infections, vasculitides and lupus-like syndromes. In addition, we discuss the relation of thiopurines and TNF antagonists with the risk of skin cancer. Expert commentary: We hope this review will help caretakers involved in t...