Inflammatory Bowel Disease Differential Diagnosis

Differential Diagnosis

The differential diagnoses include diseases that may mimic ulcerative colitis or Crohn’s disease. These are:  

Infectious Diseases

• Bacterial (intestinal TB, Yersinia sp)
• Fungal (actinomycosis)
• Viral (lymphogranuloma venereum, CMV)
• Protozoal (schistosomiasis, amoebiasis)

Non-infectious Diseases

• Behcet’s disease
• Irritable bowel syndrome
• Colon cancer
• Diverticulitis, if fever, abdominal pain, tender abdominal mass, leukocytosis, elevated ESR, partial obstruction and fistulas are present
• Intestinal lymphoma
• Ischemic colitis, if with transmural scarring or stricture formation
• Lactose intolerance, if with diarrhea, abdominal pain, or flatulence after ingestion of milk or milk-containing products
• Effects of radiation therapy, if with bloody, mucoid diarrhea and tenesmus 1 to 2 weeks after irradiation of rectum and sigmoid, stricturing, fistula formation, malabsorption and weight loss
• Drug-induced colitis
  • NSAIDs, if with diarrhea, abdominal pain, stricture, bleeding, obstruction, perforation and fistulization
  • Retinoic acid, gold, or oral contraceptives