Genital and Intertriginous Rashes Refractory to Antimicrobial Treatments: Have You Thought about Crohn’s Disease?

Abstract

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease that can have multiple extraintestinal manifestations and can develop prior to, following, or simultaneously with gastrointestinal tract involvement (Aberumand et al. (2017), Georgious et al. (2006), Larsen et al. (2010), Levine and Burakoff (2011), Louis et al. (2018)). This report examines the case of a 16-year-old male with a rash of the genital, intergluteal, and inguinal regions refractory to antimicrobial treatments suspicious for an extraintestinal manifestation of Crohn’s disease. The patient was diagnosed with inflammatory, nonfistulizing colonic Crohn’s disease following presentation with gastrointestinal symptoms including abdominal pain and bloody stools 6 months after the onset of the rash. The genital lesions resolved after starting treatment for Crohn’s disease with adalimumab.

Can vulvar edema be the presenting sign of Crohn's disease? A case series

“…In males, presenting signs of genital CD may be scrotal/penile swelling, tenderness, ulcerations, and an erythematous scaly rash. 5,6 Regardless of gender, genital CD histology reveals granulomatous inflammation. 1,6 Similar to VCD, there have been reports of resolution of symptoms of penile CD with the use of IFX.…”

“…VCD may present with labial swelling, pruritus, vaginal pain, and cutaneous findings such as ulcerations, fissures, and chronic suppuration. In males, presenting signs of genital CD may be scrotal/penile swelling, tenderness, ulcerations, and an erythematous scaly rash 5,6 . Regardless of gender, genital CD histology reveals granulomatous inflammation 1,6 .…”