A CASE OF CROHN'S DISEASE OF THE COLON IN AN ELDERLY WOMAN

We reported a case of Crohn's disease of the colon which was rare to occur in elderly patient.A-71-year-old woman was admitted to the hospital because of left lower abdominal pain and watery diarrhea.We diagnosed her disease as Crohn's colitis distributed from the transverse colon to the sigmoid colon by barium enema examination colonoscopy with biospy. After admission, we started a conservative therapy by salazopyrin and IVH, but it was nessesary to stop the drug because of its allergy. Instead, we started adrenal criticosteroid and flazyl therapy. But there was no improvement of the disease after the therapy of two months duration presenting bloody stool, and left hemicolorectomy was mandatory. The serosa of the resected colon was normal and no fistula was found, and the mucosa showed only the cobblestone appearance. After operation, the symptoms disappeard without any lesions on barium enema films, and she was discharged from hospital. This patient could be cared by surgical management, not persisting in conservative therapy, because of exacerbation of melena and depleted compensation ability.