Differential diagnosis between Crohn's disease and intestinal tuberculosis in China

Abstract

To evaluate the values of clinical findings in differential diagnosis between Crohn's disease (CD) and intestinal tuberculosis (ITb), so that better diagnosis strategies could be found, we analysed the records of 30 patients with ITb and 30 patients with CD retrospectively. We reviewed the cardinal symptomatic and physical, radiological, colonoscopic, pathological findings in the patients. Some cardinal symptomatic and physical, radiographic and colonscopic features of CD and ITb were positive correlation. Its Pearson correlation coefficients were 0.976, 0.953 and 0.961, respectively (p = 0.000, 0.003 and 0.000). Some histological features of CD and ITb had no correlation. Its Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.140 (p = 0.765). It is difficult to differentiate CD from ITb in clinical practice. The differential diagnosis depends largely upon colonoscopy and histopathology.