Crohn's disease in black patients.

The diagnosis of Crohn's disease in 13 patients (ten females and three males) at the Howard University Hospital during the ten-year period, 1965-1975, is examined. The most common presenting symptoms were right lower quadrant (RLQ) pain, diarrhea, anorexia, weight loss, and vomiting, while the most common physical finding was RLQ tenderness. Ileocolic involvement occurred most frequently. Eight patients had surgical resection. The most frequent operation was ileocolic resection with ileo-ascending colostomy. The chief indications for surgery were: (1) presumed appendicitis, (2) intestinal obstruction, and (3) internal fistulae.Crohn's disease seems to occur in blacks much less frequently than in whites. When compared to series of white patients reported by others, the series studied here has more females and more ileocolic involvement. In most other series, the greatest involvement is in the "ileum only" group.