Fistulating Crohn's disease in a patient with rheumatoid arthritis

Dear Sir, With recent advances in the treatment of autoimmune conditions this can make the diagnosis in many patients with multiple autoimmune pathologies more difficult. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have a high incidence of peripheral arthropathy, 0.4–34.6%.1 However, due to the crossover of treatments between rheumatoid arthritis and Crohn's it can be difficult to detect the latter condition. A 24-year-old male with a diagnosis of juvenile rheumatoid arthritis was admitted with colicky lower abdominal pain. He had no change in bowel habit, however examination revealed a tender mass in …