Chronic urticaria as a presenting symptom of Crohn's disease

BMJ Case Rep. 2009:2009:bcr08.2008.0781. doi: 10.1136/bcr.08.2008.0781. Epub 2009 Sep 7.

Abstract

Clinical presentation of Crohn's disease (CD) may be variable according to the location and the intensity of the inflammation. Some patients may have atypical symptoms which could delay the diagnosis. We report the first case of chronic urticaria related to a subclinical, complicated CD. Although the pathologic mechanism of this association was unclear in our patient, this case suggests that in patients with unexplained chronic urticaria it is opportune to investigate for a possible CD, even if there are no or few specific symptoms of intestinal inflammatory disease.