Free Article: Crohn's Disease Diagnosis

You are here:
Directory | Crohn's Disease |

Crohn's Disease Diagnosis: A Very Challenging Endeavor
By M. A. Fulmar

Crohn's disease diagnosis can be very challenging because it is very similar to ulcerative colitis and it is very important, when making a diagnosis of Crohn's disease, to get as accurate a picture of the patient's history regarding symptoms at the time of performing a physical examination. Crohn's disease diagnosis may involve imaging to determine lesion type as well as how much of barium enema is involved and laboratory tests as well as pathological examination of biopsied intestinal tissues are very important to make a complete and accurate Crohn's disease diagnosis.

Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI)

CDAI is one of the best tools used to determine as well as monitor severity as well as activity and has been developed by the National Cooperative Crohn's Disease Study and is used for gaining knowledge about parameters with a consistent numerical index disease of status. It may be noted that having the proper and right Crohn's disease diagnosis is important because some of its symptoms mimic those of other conditions and the method of undertaking tests should be able to rule out other conditions and for this, the physician will need to make a complete physical examination and also may need to order medical tests.

Crohn's disease diagnosis may involve performing various tests that include blood tests, radiological examinations, stool tests, urine tests, and endoscopic tests. Blood tests, though useful, may not be able to provide positive Crohn's disease diagnosis and such tests are usually undertaken in the hope that they reveal intestinal bleeding, infections or inflammatory conditions.

Radiologic examinations help in Crohn's disease diagnosis by letting the physician look into the body and determine whether the patient is suffering from Crohn's disease or not. A noninvasive test is the stool test which can examine samples of the patient's stool to determine the presence of Crohn's disease and the same may also be said of urine tests which are used to find out whether there are bacteria, red blood cells as well as white blood cells present in the patient's urine. Endoscopic examinations are another aid in Crohn's disease diagnosis in that such tests are performed with the help of a tool known as an endoscope which is a thin and flexible lighted tube linked to a computer as well as video monitor and the endoscopic examination involves inserting the endoscope into the patient's rectum, mouth or into a small abdominal incision and help the gastroenterologist obtain a detailed picture of the patient's intestinal tract.

Author Details:
M. A. Fulmar, copywriter for various websites including, Crohn's Disease and The A to Z of.

Article Source: Simply Top Articles

NOTE: This article may be reproduced ONLY if the author details, source and ALL links remain in place and active.

Related Crohn's Disease Articles: