Crohn's disease: a review of 122 cases

Relative incidence of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in six Melbourne hospitals

Information on the relative incidence of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis was obtained by a prospective investigation at six Melbourne teaching hospitals. One hundred and eleven patients who presented with chronic inflammatory bowel diseases between 1980-1981 were admitted to the study. Forty (36%) patients were diagnosed as having Crohn's disease and 63 (57%) patients as having ulcerative colitis. The type of chronic inflammatory bowel disease could not be determined in eight (7%) patients. These findings suggest that the relative frequency of Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis in Melbourne hospitals is within the range that is reported for northern Europe and the United States.

Recurrence rate after surgical treatment of Crohn's disease

In an unselected series of 207 consecutive patients with Crohn's disease diagnosed between 1958 and 1974, 170 underwent a resection of all the macroscopically involved bowel ('radically' resected). Two patients died during the first postoperative month. The crude recurrence rate for the surviving 168 patients was 49%. The cumulative recurrence rate, calculated by the actuarial method, was 53% at 15 years. Age, sex, length of preoperative disease history, localization of the lesions in the bowel, and primary surgical procedures performed had no influence on the recurrence rate. However, the histopathological appearance of the resection margins seemed to influence the prognosis, since the presence of ulcers and/or granulomas was correlated with a significantly increased recurrence rate.

Inflammatory bowel disease in Auckland, New Zealand

Four-hundred-and-fifty-six patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 137 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) attended public hospitals within Auckland between 1969 and 1978. Polynesians comprised 15% of the population at risk but accounted for only 0.4% of UC cases and no CD cases. Annual incidence rates were 5.4/100,000 Caucasians for UC and 1.75 for CD. CD was significantly less common in Auckland than in European and North American centres. For patients presenting for the first time between 1969 and 1978, the cumulative probability of surviving 10 years was 93.9% for UC and 89.1% for CD. An excess of observed over expected mortality was limited to the first year of observation in UC and did not occur in CD. Clinical features and local complications of UC and CD have been correlated with the anatomic location of disease. In this first clinical study of inflammatory bowel disease of New Zealand, 61% of CD and 23% of UC patients required at least one surgical resection.

An Australian experience of Crohn's disease

A computer analysis has been made of the clinical experience of Crohn's disease of one of the authors (E.S.R.H.) (1950-78: 50 patients) and of the Alfred Hospital Medical staff, Melbourne (1959-78: 39 patients). The mean follow-up period for the combined data was 6.2 years. Sixty-two of the 89 patients were female and 27 male. The small intestine was involved in 24 patients, the large intestine in 21, and both small and large intestine in 44. Symptoms were related to the anatomical localization of the disease. Four patients have died (two postoperative deaths and two unrelated to Crohn's disease). Sixty-nine of the 89 patients required an operative procedure, and 53 underwent one or more definitive operations with curative intention. A total of 165 operations were performed, 88 of which were definitive. Thirty-four patients developed recurrence, defined to include reactivation of disease in intestinal segments left in situ. Ten patients developed two or more recurrences. Multiple recurrences were most frequent after operation for combined small and large intestinal Crohn's disease. No patient with large-intestinal Crohn's disease alone developed more than one recurrence. Each patient undergoing subtotal colectomy and ileorectal anastomosis (six patients) or ileostomy (nine patients) required one or more further definitive operations. Recurrence was more frequent after the first than the second definitive operation (P = 0.02), the median recurrence-free intervals being 12 and 23 months respectively.

Results of operative management of Crohn's disease: A series of 50 patients managed by one surgeon

A computer analysis has been made of clinical experience of Crohn's disease in Australian patients. Between 1950 and 1978, 50 patients were managed for Crohn's disease by one of the authors (E.S.R.H.). This group represented 3.1 per cent of 1608 patients treated during the same period for primary inflammatory bowel disease. The mean follow-up period was 8.4 years. Thirty-nine of the 50 patients were female and 11 male. The small intestine was involved in seven patients, large intestine in 17 and both small and large intestine in 26. Symptoms were related to the anatomic localization of disease. Four patients have died (two postoperative deaths and two unrelated to Crohn's disease). Forty-nine of the 50 patients required operative procedures and 36 underwent one or more definitive operations with curative intention. A total of 124 operations was performed, 70 of which were definitive. Twenty-nine of the 36 patients managed by a definitive operation developed recurrence, defined to include reactivation of disease in intestinal segments left in situ. Ten patients developed two or more recurrences. Multiple recurrences were most frequent after operation for combined small- and large-intestinal Crohn's disease. No patient with large-intestinal Crohn's disease alone developed more than one recurrence. Each patient undergoing subtotal colectomy with ileorectal anastomosis (six patients) or ileostomy (nine patients) required one or more further definitive operations. Recurrence was more frequent after the first than second definitive operation (P = 0.007), the median recurrence-free intervals being 11 and 23 months, respectively.