Crohn's Disease Tests & Diagnosis

Crohn's disease is a type of inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation in the gastrointestinal tract. Symptoms of the disorder, which signal a person should seek medical treatment, are abdominal cramps, persistent diarrhea, weight loss and rectal bleeding.

Laboratory Tests

• A complete blood count can be used to detect anemia, a condition that signals a person has bleeding in his intestines. A liver function test shows irregularities in the liver or bile duct. Antibody tests look for antibodies that are created by the body to fight Crohn's disease.

Barium Enema

• During a barium enema, barium is used to take X-rays of the stomach, small intestine, colon and rectum. The test can be used to show narrowing in the bowel and abnormal spaces between the bowels and organs around it.

CT Scan

• A computerized tomography (CT) scan uses X-rays to get cross-sectional pictures of the inside of a person's body. The test is used to look for inflammation in the small or large intestine.

Endoscopy

• During an endoscopy, a doctor uses a tube with a lighted camera to get pictures of different parts of the gastrointestinal tract. The test shows whether a patient has Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis. It can also show the extent of the inflammation in the bowels.

White-Blood Cell Scan

• A white blood cell scan uses a combination of white blood cells, taken from a patient, and a radioactive substance to find inflamed tissue in the gastrointestinal tract.