Autoimmune mechanisms are proposed for involvement with IBD. Nutritional deficiencies associated with neurological manifestations, such as vitamin B12 deficiency, should be investigated. Spinal abscess has been reported in both a child and an adult with initial complaints of severe back pain due to extension of a psoas abscess from the epidural space to the subarachnoid space.Psychiatric and psychological
Crohns disease is linked to many psychological disorders, including depression and anxiety, denial of your disease, the need for dependence or dependent behaviors, feeling overwhelmed, and having a poor self-image.Endocrinological or Hematological
Autoimmune hemolytic anemia, a condition in which the immune system attacks the red blood cells, is also more common in Crohns disease and may cause fatigue, a pale appearance, and other symptoms common in anemia. Secondary amyloidosis (AA) is another rare but serious complication of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), generally seen in Crohns disease. At least 1% of patients with Crohns disease develop amyloidosis. In the literature, the time lapse between the onset of Crohns disease and the diagnosis of amyloidosis has been reported to range from one to 21 years. Leukocytosis and thrombocytopenia are usually due to immunosuppressant treatments or sulfasalazine. Plasma erythropoietin levels often are lower in patients with IBD than expected, in conjunction with severe anemia.Thrombocytosis and thromboembolic events resulting from a hypercoagulable state in patients with IBD can lead to pulmonary embolism or thrombosis elsewhere in the body. Thrombosis has been reported in 1.8% of patients with UC and 3.1% of patients with CD.
Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) and C-reactive protein help assess the degree of inflammation, which is important as ferritin can also be raised in inflammation. Serum iron, total iron binding capacity and transferrin saturation may be more easily interpreted in inflammation. Anemia of chronic disease results in a normocytic anemia.Other causes of anemia include medication used in treatment of inflammatory bowel disease, like azathioprine, which can lead to cytopenia, and sulfasalazine, which can also result in folate deficiency. Testing for Saccharomyces cerevisiae antibodies (ASCA) and antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies (ANCA) has been evaluated to identify inflammatory diseases of the intestine and to differentiate Crohns disease from ulcerative colitis. Furthermore, increasing amounts and levels of serological antibodies such as ASCA, antilaminaribioside [Glc(β1,3)Glb(β); ALCA], antichitobioside [GlcNAc(β1,4)GlcNAc(β); ACCA], antimannobioside [Man(α1,3)Man(α)AMCA], antiLaminarin [(Glc(β1,3))3n(Glc(β1,6))n; anti-L] and antichitin [GlcNAc(β1,4)n; anti-C] associate with disease behavior and surgery, and may aid in the prognosis of Crohns disease.Low serum levels of vitamin D are associated with Crohns disease. Further studies are required to determine the significance of this association. Comparison with ulcerative colitis
The most common disease that mimics the symptoms of Crohns disease is ulcerative colitis, as both are inflammatory bowel diseases that can affect the colon with similar symptoms. It is important to differentiate these diseases, since the course of the diseases and treatments may be different. In some cases, however, it may not be possible to tell the difference, in which case the disease is classified as indeterminate colitis.