Laryngeal manifestations of Crohn’s disease

Abstract

Crohn’s disease is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease. It should be considered a multisystemic disease due to its extra-intestinal manifestations found in 25-40% of patients with inflammatory bowel disease. Laryngeal involvement is very uncommon and the lesions in hypopharynx and larynx are edema, ulcerations and granulation tissue. Symptoms are dysphonia, dysphagia, odynophagia and airway restriction. Laryngeal manifestations of Crohn’s disease are usually successfully treated with oral steroids. We describe a 54-year-old woman who presented with dysphagia and odynophagia for 20 days. She had a history of Crohn’s disease for 6 years. Laryngoscopy revealed a cobblestone appearance of epiglottis and laryngeal vestibule. A biopsy of the lesion of the epiglottis was taken and histologic analysis revealed a nonspecific chronic inflammation suggestive of Crohn’s disease. Therefore the patient was treated with oral steroids and laryngeal lesions resolved in a week. To date, the correlation between intestinal symptoms and head and neck manifestations is unknown. Though our case report suggests that head and neck manifestations are not related to bowel inflammatory activity. However more studies are required to deepen this matter.