A 28-year-old man presents with complaints of diarrhea, fecal urgency, and weight loss. His stool is light colored and malodorous, and it tends to float and be difficult to flush. He has also noted tender, red bumps on his shins and complains of pain and stiffness in his elbows and knees. Sigmoidoscopy reveals discontinuous, granulomatous lesions; no blood is detected in his stool. Which of the following diagnoses would his care team first suspect?

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Crohn disease, like ulcerative colitis, causes diarrhea, fecal urgency, weight loss, and systemic symptoms such as erythema nodosum and arthritis. Unlike ulcerative colitis, it also causes steatorrhea but is not as likely to cause blood in the stool. The granulomatous "skip" lesions confirm the diagnosis of Crohn disease. Neither diverticulitis nor colon cancer would cause this combination of symptoms and signs.

A 28-Year-Old Man Presents with Complaints of Diarrhea, Fecal Urgency