Presence of fistulas as predictor of stenoses in Crohn's disease

Introduction: Fistulas belong to the most frequent complications in Crohn's disease. In patients suffering from fistulizing Crohn's disease we often observed the presence of concomitant stenoses or significant luminal narrowing in the small or large bowel, suggesting a causal relation. By analyzing retrospective data of patients with fistulas from our IBD center cohort we searched for a concomitant presence of stenoses or luminal narrowing. Methods: We screened the medical records of all patients who presented with Crohn's disease at our IBD-center since 1998. Patients having presented with fistulizing disease w…