Celiac sprue and Crohn's disease: an association causing severe growth retardation.

Celiac sprue and Crohn's disease have very rarely been documented in the same patient. We report a case involving an adolescent male with known Crohn's disease who had extreme wasting, growth retardation, intractable diarrhea, and delay in development of secondary sexual characteristics. Peroral jejunal biopsy showed a nonspecific flat mucosal lesion compatible with celiac sprue. An 8.0-kg weight increase occurred within 4 weeks of institution of a gluten-free diet. Jejunal rebiopsy documented significant improvement with a mild to moderate villous abnormality. After 2 years on a gluten-free diet, a rebiopsy of the jejunum documented only a mild villous abnormality.