Crohn Disease with Gastritis and Constipation without Diarrhoea: A Diagnostic Enigma

Abstract

There are multiple atypical manifestations of Crohn disease which sometimes delay diagnosis or even more often result in complete misdiagnosis especially in poorly equipped facilities. This is the case of an elderly woman with Crohn disease who presented with gastritis and constipation. She had hitherto been wrongly managed for peptic ulcer disease based mainly on her symptoms. Further workup revealed the actual diagnosis, but only after some years of failed symptomatic management. This case aims to improve awareness on the sundry variants of Crohn disease presentation and to encourage clinicians to reduce complacency in diagnosing apparently simple conditions.