Crohn's disease of the esophagus.

: In 1932 Crohn, Ginzburg, and Oppenheimer described a distinct pathologic and clinical entity characterized by a chronic inflammatory process of unknown etiology involving the terminal ileum. Since then, Crohn's disease has been recognized in all portions of the alimentary canal from mouth to anus. Crohn's disease of the esophagus is a rare process. Such a patient is reported with a review of the literature. A review of the English literature reveals reports of 20 patients with Crohn's disease of the esophagus. One-third of these patients had regional enteritis requiring resection. Esophageal stricture, stenosis, or fistula were frequent complications requiring resection. Regional esophagitis is difficult to distinguish from carcinoma, frequently leads to esophagitis, and is associated with a higher mortality rate than Crohn's disease in other portions of the alimentary tract.