Crohn's disease presenting with pleural effusion: a case report.

Oxf Med Case Reports

Scientific Affairs Department, Smart Health Tower, Madam Mitterrand Street, Sulaymaniyah 46001, Kurdistan, Iraq.

Published: October 2024

AI Article Synopsis

  • Crohn's disease (CD) is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that can also cause various symptoms outside the intestines, with lung-related issues being uncommon.
  • A case study presented involves a 43-year-old man who experienced dry cough, chest pain, and difficulty breathing, leading to his diagnosis of CD after further testing revealed pleural effusion and other signs.
  • This case highlights the rarity of CD presenting as isolated bilateral pleural effusion and emphasizes that it can mimic other pulmonary conditions, making diagnosis challenging.

Article Abstract

Crohn's disease (CD) is a granulomatous inflammatory bowel disease. Around 25% of CD patients exhibit extraintestinal manifestations, though pulmonary involvement is rare. This study presents a case of CD causing pleural effusion. A 43-year-old man visited the pulmonology clinic with a dry cough for one-month, right-side pleuritic chest pain, and exertional dyspnea. He was treated with antihistamines and antitussive syrup, with incomplete relief. A chest CT scan showed bilateral mild pleural effusion. Given his occasional black stools and high serum calprotectin, a colonoscopy confirmed CD. Pulmonary manifestations may involve airway, parenchymal, and interstitial pathologies, but no distinctive pathological findings differentiate CD's pulmonary manifestations from other causes. In conclusion, isolated bilateral pleural effusion and the underlying pleuritis as a pulmonary manifestation of CD-characterized by dry cough and pleuritic chest pain, particularly preceding the diagnosis of CD-is extremely rare but possible.

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Source
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC11465518PMC
http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/omcr/omae113DOI Listing

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