Crohn’s disease often involves the end of the small intestine and the colon but can affect anywhere from mouth to anus. Inflammation extends through the full thickness of the bowel wall and can lead to strictures, fistulas, and abscesses. Symptoms typically wax and wane over time, and long-term management aims for symptom control and healing of inflammation.
Common features include abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, fatigue, and sometimes perianal disease; extra-intestinal manifestations (joints, skin, eyes) can also occur.
Call the office if you have known Crohn’s disease with worsening symptoms, weight loss, fevers, or new pain, or if you suspect Crohn’s disease due to chronic GI symptoms and family history.
Seek emergency care for severe abdominal pain, high fever, signs of bowel obstruction, severe rectal bleeding, or suspected abscess (pain, fever, chills).
Evaluation uses a combination of blood tests, stool tests, colonoscopy with biopsies, and imaging of the small intestine to define disease location and severity.
Treatment aims to induce and maintain remission, heal mucosa, and prevent complications. Therapies may include steroids for flares, immunomodulators, biologics, and targeted small-molecule drugs, with close monitoring of disease activity.
If your insurance requires a referral or prior authorization, our billing office will make every effort to obtain it before services are rendered. If you choose to proceed without required authorization, insurance may deny coverage. If you are a Medicare patient, you may be asked to sign an Advanced Beneficiary Notice (ABN) acknowledging financial responsibility if insurance does not pay. If you are enrolled in a commercial insurance plan you will be asked to sign a non-covered services form.