THE CHANGING EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CROHN DISEASE PATIENTS IN ROMANIA

Abstract

Introduction: The landscape of Crohn disease (CD) is ever-changing. Incidence continues to vary as different population adapt to the  modern wester diet which consists mainly from processed foods. Material and Method: Our study is retrospective, data was gathered from three University Hospitals in Bucharest, Romania. To be included in the study, patients had to have a positive diagnostic of CD. Results: The patient with CD which requires surgery in Romania is: male, comes from an urban enviroment is a smoker, under 50 years of age. In his case CD frequently affects the small intestine, is frequently operated in emergency settings, frequently operated for intestinal obstruction. The patient has an average duration from diagnosis to surgery of 1-3 years. The relapse free period is 2.3years. Conclusion: Despite its global trend regarding the distribution of surgical interventions to those performed under elective conditions, a tendency has been observed in Romania for surgical interventions done for life-threatening complications in emergency settings. The public / patients need to be better informed about CD and its complications to seek medical help before surgery becomes mandatory.