CUTANEOUS CROHNS-DISEASE IN CHILDREN

Background: Although cutaneous Crohn's disease is well recognized in a dults, in children it is extremely rare. Objective: Our purpose was to describe five children with cutaneous Crohn's disease and to review t he literature. Methods: The medical records of five children with cuta neous Crohn's disease were retrospectively reviewed for clinical featu res and laboratory data An extensive review of the literature was cond ucted. Results: Five children, one boy and four girls, 6 to 12 years o f age at onset, had cutaneous manifestations of Crohn's disease. Three had genital swelling, and the other 2 had buttock abscesses. Most wer e seen before the diagnosis of gastrointestinal Crohn's disease was ma de. There have been 80 cases of cutaneous Crohn's disease described, i ncluding our series. Only 14 were in children. Two thirds of children with cutaneous Crohn's disease had genital involvement compared with a bout half of the adult cases. Sixteen of the 80 patients had cutaneous lesions without preceding gastrointestinal Crohn's disease. Of these, approximately 70% had genital lesions. Conclusion: Although Crohn's d isease is common in children, cutaneous manifestations are rarely a pr esenting sign. However, when cutaneous Crohn's disease is present in c hildren, it commonly precedes the gastrointestinal disease.