Diagnosis of Crohn's Disease | NIDDK

Intestinal endoscopies are the most accurate methods for diagnosing Crohn's disease and ruling out other possible conditions, such as ulcerative colitis, ... Home HealthInformation DigestiveDiseases Crohn'sDisease Diagnosis RelatedTopics English English Español Crohn'sDisease Definition&Facts Symptoms&Causes Diagnosis Treatment Eating,Diet,&Nutrition ClinicalTrials DiagnosisofCrohn’sDisease HowdodoctorsdiagnoseCrohn’sdisease? DoctorstypicallyuseacombinationofteststodiagnoseCrohn’sdisease.Yourdoctorwillalsoaskyouaboutyourmedicalhistory—includingmedicinesyouaretaking—andyourfamilyhistoryandwillperformaphysicalexam. Physicalexam Duringaphysicalexam,adoctormostoften checksforbloatinginyourabdomen listenstosoundswithinyourabdomenusingastethoscope tapsonyourabdomentocheckfortendernessandpainandtoseeifyourliverorspleenisabnormalorenlarged Diagnostictests YourdoctormayusethefollowingteststohelpdiagnoseCrohn’sdisease: labtests intestinalendoscopy uppergastrointestinal(GI)series computedtomography(CT)scan Yourdoctormayalsoperformteststoruleoutotherdiseases,suchasulcerativecolitis,diverticulardisease,orcancer,thatcausesymptomssimilartothoseofCrohn’sdisease. WhattestsdodoctorsusetodiagnoseCrohn’sdisease? YourdoctormayperformthefollowingteststohelpdiagnoseCrohn’sdisease. Labtests LabteststohelpdiagnoseCrohn’sdiseaseinclude: Bloodtests.Ahealthcareprofessionalmaytakeabloodsamplefromyouandsendthesampletoalabtotestforchangesin redbloodcells.Ifyourredbloodcellsarefewerorsmallerthannormal,youmayhaveanemia. whitebloodcells.Whenyourwhitebloodcellcountishigherthannormal,youmayhaveinflammationorinfectionsomewhereinyourbody. Bloodtest Stooltests.Astooltestistheanalysisofasampleofstool.Yourdoctorwillgiveyouacontainerforcatchingandstoringthestool.Youwillreceiveinstructionsonwheretosendortakethekitforanalysis.Doctorsusestoolteststoruleoutothercausesofdigestivediseases. Intestinalendoscopy IntestinalendoscopiesarethemostaccuratemethodsfordiagnosingCrohn’sdiseaseandrulingoutotherpossibleconditions,suchasulcerativecolitis,diverticulardisease,orcancer.Intestinalendoscopiesincludethefollowing: Colonoscopy.Colonoscopyisaprocedureinwhichadoctorusesalong,flexible,narrowtubewithalightandtinycameraononeend,calledacolonoscopeorendoscope,tolookinsideyourrectumandcolon.ThedoctormayalsoexamineyourileumtolookforsignsofCrohn’sdisease. Atrainedspecialistperformsacolonoscopyinahospitaloranoutpatientcenter.Ahealthcareprofessionalwillgiveyouwrittenbowelprepinstructionstofollowathomebeforetheprocedure.Youwillreceivesedatives,anesthesia,orpainmedicineduringtheprocedure. Duringacolonoscopy,you’llbeaskedtolieonatablewhilethedoctorinsertsacolonoscopeintoyouranusandslowlyguidesitthroughyourrectumandcolonandintothelowerpartofyourileum.IfyourdoctorsuspectsthatyouhaveCrohn’sdisease,thecolonoscopywillincludebiopsiesofyourileum,colon,andrectum.Youwon’tfeelthebiopsies. UpperGIendoscopyandenteroscopy.InanupperGIendoscopy,yourdoctorusesanendoscopetoseeinsideyourupperdigestivetract,alsocalledyourupperGItract. Atrainedspecialistperformstheprocedureatahospitaloranoutpatientcenter.Youshouldnoteatordrinkbeforetheprocedure.AhealthcareprofessionalwilltellyouhowtoprepareforanupperGIendoscopy.Youmostoftenreceivealiquidanesthetictonumbyourthroatandalightsedativetohelpyoustayrelaxedandcomfortableduringtheprocedure. Duringtheprocedure,thedoctorcarefullyfeedstheendoscopedownyouresophagusandintoyourstomachandduodenum. Duringanenteroscopy,adoctorexaminesyoursmallintestinewithaspecial,longerendoscopeusingoneofthefollowingprocedures: pushenteroscopy,whichusesalongendoscopetoexaminetheupperportionofyoursmallintestine single-ordouble-balloonenteroscopy,whichusessmallballoonstohelpmovetheendoscopeintoyoursmallintestine spiralenteroscopy,whichusesatubeattachedtoanendoscopethatactsasacorkscrewtomovetheinstrumentintoyoursmallintestine Capsuleendoscopy.Incapsuleendoscopy,youswallowacapsulecontainingatinycamerathatallowsyourdoctortoseeinsideyourdigestivetract.Youshouldnoteatordrinkbeforetheprocedure.Ahealthcareprofessionalwilltellyouhowtoprepareforacapsuleendoscopy.Youdon’tneedanesthesiaforthisprocedure. Thetestbeginsinadoctor’soffice,whereyouswallowthecapsule.Youcanleavethedoctor’sofficeduringthetest.Asthecapsulepassesthroughyourdigestivetract,thecamerawillrecordandtransmitimagestoasmallreceiverdevicethatyouwear.Whentherecordingisdone,yourdoctordownloadsandreviewstheimages.Thecameracapsuleleavesyourbodyduringabowelmovement,andyoucansafelyflushitdownthetoilet. UpperGIseries AnupperGIseriesisaprocedureinwhichadoctorusesx-rays,fluoroscopy,andachalkyliquidcalledbariumtoviewyourupperGItract. Anx-raytechnicianandaradiologistperformthistestatahospitaloranoutpatientcenter.Youshouldnoteatordrinkbeforetheprocedure.AhealthcareprofessionalwilltellyouhowtoprepareforanupperGIseries.Youdon’tneedanesthesiaforthisprocedure. Fortheprocedure,you’llbeaskedtostandorsitinfrontofanx-raymachineanddrinkbarium.ThebariumwillmakeyourupperGItractmorevisibleonanx-ray.Youwillthenlieonthex-raytable,andtheradiologistwillwatchthebariummovethroughyourupperGItractonthex-rayandfluoroscopy. CTscan ACTscanusesacombinationofx-raysandcomputertechnologytocreateimagesofyourdigestivetract. ForaCTscan,ahealthcareprofessionalmaygiveyouasolutiontodrinkandaninjectionofaspecialdye,calledcontrastmedium.Contrastmediummakesthestructuresinsideyourbodyeasiertoseeduringtheprocedure.You’lllieonatablethatslidesintoatunnel-shapeddevicethattakesthex-rays.CTscanscandiagnosebothCrohn’sdiseaseandthecomplicationsofthedisease. LastReviewedSeptember2017 Sharethispage Print Facebook Twitter Email MoreOptions WhatsApp LinkedIn Reddit Pinterest CopyLink Previous: Symptoms&Causes Next: Treatment ThiscontentisprovidedasaserviceoftheNationalInstituteofDiabetesandDigestiveandKidneyDiseases (NIDDK),partoftheNationalInstitutesofHealth.TheNIDDKtranslatesanddisseminatesresearchfindingstoincreaseknowledgeandunderstandingabouthealthanddiseaseamongpatients,healthprofessionals,andthepublic.ContentproducedbytheNIDDKiscarefullyreviewedbyNIDDKscientistsandotherexperts.