Published in:
01-03-2020 | Crohn's Disease | Short Communication
Crohn’s disease in Israeli Jews of Ethiopian heritage—a case series
Published in: International Journal of Colorectal Disease | Issue 3/2020
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Introduction
There is a paucity of information on the prevalence of Crohn’s disease (CD) in patients of African heritage. Israel is home to approximately 144,100 Jews of Ethiopian heritage. We present an audit of six patients of Ethiopian heritage in our surgical IBD clinic.
Report
Six patients are presented. All but one was born in Ethiopia. The age of diagnosis ranged from 19 to 43. Of those who immigrated to Israel, all were diagnosed with Crohn’s 10 years or more after immigration. All patients required surgery. Nearly all patients had disease of the terminal ileum (5/6), and many had perianal disease (4/6).
Discussion
This series indicates the existence of Crohn’s disease in a population previously unassociated with this disease. These patients demonstrate that like all other patients with Crohn’s disease, many will require surgery for either intestinal or perianal disease. Patients of Ethiopian descent with clinical symptoms and signs suspicious of Crohn’s should be referred for diagnostic testing.