[Acute peritonitis due to perforating crohn's disease].

Peritonitis is an infrequent complication of perforating Crohn's disease. Three patients, aged between 25 and 41 years, underwent surgery for peritonitis due to perforating Crohn's disease in the terminal ileum. The underlying disease differed in each patient (one patient was asymptomatic and two presented acute episodes of the disease; of these two patients, corticoids were required in one to control symptomatology). Treatment consisted of intestinal resection with primary anastomosis. In all three patients evolution was satisfactory. Taking only patients treated in our hospital into account, the frequency of peritonitis due to perforating Crohn's disease in our area is high (more than 11%). Intestinal resection with primary anastomosis should be performed whenever possible.