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CASE REPORT article
Front. Pediatr.
Sec. Pediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fped.2025.1544459
This article is part of the Research Topic Advances Towards Precision Medicine in Pediatric-onset Inflammatory Bowel Disease View all articles
Exploring beyond tumors: Intra-abdominal mass in a young patient with Crohn’s disease
Provisionally accepted- 1 Charleston Area Medical Center -Women and Children's Hospital., Charleston, United States
- 2 School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, United States
- 3 West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, United States
An abdominal mass is an uncommon manifestation of Crohn’s disease, often mimicking the granulomatous, infectious, or neoplastic conditions. In this case, a 12-year-old girl presented with abdominal pain and a mass in the right lower quadrant (RLQ). Despite the absence of typical gastrointestinal symptoms, investigations revealed an indeterminate abdominal mass. Colonoscopy revealed a polypoid mass in the cecum, which eventually led to an ileocecectomy. Biopsy results showed noncaseating granulomas, characteristic of Crohn's disease (CD). Laboratory tests indicated anemia, elevated inflammation markers, and positive genetic markers for CD. This case underscores the diagnostic challenge of CD in children, particularly when it presents atypically as a benign mass. It emphasizes the importance of considering inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in the differential diagnosis of intraluminal intra-abdominal masses and stresses the need for early recognition and treatment to improve outcomes, highlighting the significance of a comprehensive evaluation incorporating symptoms, radiology, and histological evidence.
Keywords: Intraabdominal mass, crohns disease, Carcinoid Tumor, Inflammatory bowel disease, abdominal mass
Received: 12 Dec 2024; Accepted: 25 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Daswaney, Patel, Haricharan, Mohamed and Ahuja. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Akash Daswaney, Charleston Area Medical Center -Women and Children's Hospital., Charleston, United States
Kanya Ahuja, School of Medicine, West Virginia University, Morgantown, United States
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