Oral Crohn’s disease:

a series of nine cases

Abstract

Crohn’s disease (CD) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease whose oral features remain underrated at clinical examination. The aim of the study was to report forerunner orofacial presentations leading to diagnosis of CD among nine patients of mean age 23 between 2008 and 2015. Linear ulcerative buccal lesions, cobblestoning, mucosal tags and perioral erythema are highly evocative and might precede intestinal signs for several years. Oral biopsies revealed highly suggestive lesions of CD for 45% of patients before any intestinal symptom or digestive investigation. Mean time to diagnosis was 14 months. Immunomodulatory therapy (azathioprine, infliximab, adalimumab) was introduced alone or in association for 89% of patients. Early diagnosis could lead to specific therapy, often necessary to reduce severity of lesions and improve quality of life.