What is the differential diagnosis of a patient presenting with oral ulcers, erythema nodosum, weight loss, uveitis, and bloody diarrhea?

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Differential Diagnosis for Mouth Ulcers, Erythema Nodosum, Weight Loss, Uveitis, and Bloody Diarrhea

Single Most Likely Diagnosis

  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD): This includes conditions like Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which can cause bloody diarrhea, weight loss, and extraintestinal manifestations such as mouth ulcers, erythema nodosum, and uveitis due to the systemic inflammatory nature of the disease.

Other Likely Diagnoses

  • Behçet's Disease: A form of vasculitis that can cause mouth ulcers, uveitis, and gastrointestinal symptoms including bloody diarrhea. It also can lead to weight loss and erythema nodosum.
  • Sarcoidosis: An autoimmune disease that can affect multiple organs, leading to symptoms like uveitis, erythema nodosum, and less commonly, gastrointestinal involvement that might include bloody diarrhea and weight loss.
  • ** Reactive Arthritis (Reiter's Syndrome)**: Although more commonly associated with arthritis, urethritis, and conjunctivitis, reactive arthritis can also present with mouth ulcers, uveitis, and gastrointestinal symptoms in some cases.

Do Not Miss Diagnoses

  • Lymphoma: Both Hodgkin's and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma can present with systemic symptoms like weight loss and can involve the gastrointestinal tract, causing bloody diarrhea. They can also cause immune-related phenomena leading to erythema nodosum and uveitis.
  • Tuberculosis: Can cause a wide range of systemic symptoms including weight loss, and can affect the gastrointestinal tract, eyes, and skin, leading to symptoms like bloody diarrhea, uveitis, and erythema nodosum.
  • Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE): An autoimmune disease that can affect virtually any organ system, leading to a wide range of symptoms including those described.

Rare Diagnoses

  • Whipple's Disease: A rare bacterial infection that can cause malabsorption leading to weight loss, diarrhea (which can be bloody), and systemic symptoms including arthritis and uveitis.
  • Eosinophilic Gastroenteritis: A rare condition characterized by eosinophilic infiltration of the gastrointestinal tract, which can cause gastrointestinal symptoms, and potentially systemic symptoms if the disease is widespread.
  • Kawasaki Disease (in adults): Although primarily a disease of children, Kawasaki disease can rarely occur in adults and is characterized by fever, rash, lymphadenopathy, and desquamation of the hands and feet, but can also involve the gastrointestinal tract and eyes.

Professional Medical Disclaimer

This information is intended for healthcare professionals. Any medical decision-making should rely on clinical judgment and independently verified information. The content provided herein does not replace professional discretion and should be considered supplementary to established clinical guidelines. Healthcare providers should verify all information against primary literature and current practice standards before application in patient care. Dr.Oracle assumes no liability for clinical decisions based on this content.

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