How Is Crohn's Disease Diagnosed or Detected?

Family Medicine, Primary Care Roots Community Health Center, Hippo Education, Kameda Medical Center

Supervised by Kenji Taylor, MD

Crohn's disease is diagnosed by a combination of endoscopy (internal camera that looks at the stomach, intestines) and MRI or CT scans. Blood and stool samples will also be tested.

Explanation

Endoscopy is the main test to diagnosis Crohn's disease. During endoscopy of the colon, a small sample of the tissue will be taken for biopsy and evaluation under a microscope. A pathologist will look at the any abnormal microscopic changes that are present in Crohn's disease. Blood and stool testing will also be performed to look for other issues that arise with Crohn's disease as well as rule out other possible diseases. Other imaging studies like MRI and CT scan may also be used to aid in diagnosis, rule out other diagnoses and understand the extent of the Crohn's disease.

(References)

Feuerstein JD, Cheifetz AS. Crohn Disease: Epidemiology, Diagnosis, and Management. Mayo Clin Proc. 2017 Jul;92(7):1088-1103. doi: 10.1016/j.mayocp.2017.04.010. Epub 2017 Jun 7. PMID: 28601423.

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