Crohn's disease limited to the appendix.

BACKGROUND

Crohn's disease confined to the vermiform appendix is rare. In our study, the incidence was 0.2% of all patients diagnosed with Crohn's disease at La Paz University Hospital, Madrid, Spain, in 20 years.

METHODS

Here we review the clinical records of 10 patients with isolated appendiceal Crohn's disease.

RESULTS

Preoperative diagnosis was acute appendicitis in all 10 cases, and all patients underwent appendectomy. Postoperative complications were limited to an enterocutaneous fistula in 1 patient. There was no evidence of recurrence during a mean follow-up period of 14.5 years (range 2 to 25 year).

CONCLUSIONS

We conclude that Crohn's disease when confined to the appendix is less aggressive than in other sections of the intestine, with a low recurrence rate and incidence of postoperative fistula.