An Unusual Presentation of Crohn’s Disease and Novel Use of Direct Peritoneal Resuscitation

Abstract

Crohn’s disease is an inflammatory bowel disease characterized by transmural inflammation, with the majority of patients having small bowel involvement, usually the distal ileum. Typical manifestations include a prolonged course of abdominal pain, diarrhea, fatigue, and weight loss. We report a case of a 21-year-old male who presented with an acute abdomen and was in profound shock resulting in cardiac arrest. The patient underwent damage control, exploratory laparotomy complicated by acute hypoxic respiratory failure requiring veno-venous extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and the novel use of direct peritoneal resuscitation in the setting of an acute abdomen with an uncontrolled enterotomy and bowel spillage. Our case report illustrates the importance of prompt surgical intervention and critical care with the application of novel surgical techniques to minimize mortality in an unusual presentation of Chron’s disease.