Total Cost For Crohn's Disease example essay topic

Crohn's Disease Crohn's disease is a bowel disease characterized by inflammation of the different layers of the gastrointestinal tract. It can be distinguished from ulcerative colitis (a similar disease) in that Crohn's affects any part of the gut, whereas ulcerative colitis only affects the innermost layer of the colon and rectum. About 15% of Crohn's patients have severe fistula ting disease. In this form, ulcer-like channels develop from the bowel wall and burrow all the way to the skin surface. Eventually, 75% of these patients require surgery. It is estimated that approximately one million Americans suffer from Crohn's and ulcerative colitis.

The total cost for Crohn's disease was $43.1 million in 1994. While drug therapy accounted for 6% of these costs, indirect costs (i. e., sick leave and early retirement) constituted 71% of the total cost. The onset of Crohn's disease most often occurs between the ages of 15 and 35, but can occur at any age. The exact cause is unknown, but is thought to be autoimmune in nature with a genetic predisposition. Researchers are still looking for an infectious cause but no organism has been isolated.

Crohn's disease presents with a variety of non-specific signs and symptoms. Patients may present symptoms including low grade fever, malaise, abdominal pain, diarrhea, weight loss, and fatigue. Children with Crohn's disease may suffer delayed development and stunted growth. The disease has an insidious onset, characterized by exacerbations and remissions. While stress does not cause the disease, it may precipitate a flare-up.

Diagnosis is based on the patient.'s symptoms, supported by x-rays and biopsies of the small and large intestine. Tumor necrosis factor alpha, TNF a, a protein released when the immune system is activated, is a major catalyst in the inflammatory process and is believed to play a major role in the pathogenesis of the disease. Intestinal obstruction secondary to active inflammation is the most common complication. Patients with colonic involvement are at risk for developing colon cancer. Subsets of patients develop fistulas that are usually managed by medication or parental nutrition, but may require surgery. Nutritional and vitamin deficiencies are common, resulting from inadequate diet, intestinal loss of protein, or mal absorption.

Systemic complications may include arthritis, skin lesions, anemia, liver and biliary disease, inflammation of the eyes or mouth, and bleeding disorders. Some of these problems resolve during treatment of the disease, but some may be treated separately. Consultations with dietitians, wound care specialists, or pain management clinicians and physiological support clinicians are not uncommon. There is no cure for Crohn's disease. The goals of therapy aim to control inflammation, correct nutritional deficiencies, and relieve symptoms. This involves medications, nutritional supplements, surgery, or any combination of these factors.

Medications used in treating Crohn's disease include salicylates (, Asa col (R), Dipentum (R), and Penta sa (R) ), corticosteroids, antibiotics (ampicillin, tetracycline, , sulfonamides, and), and immunosuppressive drugs (6-mercaptopurine, cyclosporine, ). work. com (c) 2002.