Diseases that can mimic IBD

Abstract

Malfunctioning of the gastrointestinal tract can present in only a finite number of ways. Thus patients with many maladies may complain of similar abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, distension, gassiness, diarrhea, and constipation. As described elsewhere in this volume, these could be symptoms of ulcerative colitis (UC), Crohn’s disease (CD), or indeterminate colitis. Yet there are a number of other diseases that can mimic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). It is with this differential diagnosis that this chapter deals. In broad categories these IBD-simulators can be grouped into: “non-IBD” inflammatory, infectious, vascular, iatrogenic, motility, and other idiopathic conditions.