Clinical Analysis of Ulcerative Colitis

Ulcerative colitis is increasing now in Korea, and the diagnosis has become relatively easy because sigmoidoscopy and colonoscopy are frequently used. However, the result of treatment is not satisfactory because the relapse rate is very high. Hence, the aim of treatment is to put this disease into remission as soon as possible and to keep it in remission. The authors reviewed 80 confirmed ulcerative colitis cases which were treated from Feb. 1997 to Sep. 1997 at Song Do Colorectal Hospital. The results are as follows: 1) The male to female ratio for these 80 cases was 41:39, and the most prevalent age group was the 4th decade. 2) The most common clinical symptoms were anal bleeding in 77 cases(96%), diarrhea in 68 cases(85%), and abdominal pain in 21 cases(26%). 3) The extension of the disease were the proctitis in 47 cases(59%), the left - side colitis in 28 cases(35%), the total colitis in 4 cases(5%), and the atypical colitis in 1 case(1.3%). 4) The duration of the disease was below 6 month in 30 cases, 6 months to 1 year in 35 cases, and 1~5 years in 11 cases, and over 5 years in 4 cases. 5) Clinical types were the one-attack-only type(18 cases), the relapsing-remitting type(60 cases), the chronic continuous type(1 case), and the acute fulminating type(1 case). 6) In the 28 cases of left side colitis, the average time to remission depended on the medication was 18 days for a 5-ASA 5-ASA suppository, 14.5 days for a 5-ASA oral steroid, and 8.3 days for a 5-ASA budesonide enema. Thus, a budesonide enema is the most effective medication for obtaining remission. 7) The most commonly suspected predisposing factors for relapse were cessation of medication(58 cases), mental stress(18 cases), physical stress(15 cases), and inadequate diet(8 cases). As indicated above, ulcerative colitis is increasing now in Korea, and the rectum is the most commonly involved site for this disease. Relapsing-remitting ulcerative colitis is the most frequently occurring type. Almost all cases were easily put into remission within 4 weeks, but relapse frequently occurred. Suspected predisposing factors, such as mental stress, physical stress, and inadequate diet, should be avoided in order to prevent relapse, and medication, such as 5-aminosalicylic acid, should be continued to maintain remission.

Effecacy of the Immunoregulatory Agent with Cyclosporine for the Treatment of Inflammatory Bowel Disease with Emphasis on Ulcerative Colitis and Crohn's Disease

Patients with inflammatory bowel disease who fail to respond to first-line agents such as 5-ASA compounds and corticosteroids can benefit from immunomodulating medications. In past years, the short-term effectiveness of CsA in Inflammatory bowel disease(IBD) has been reported, but the long-term efficacy, benefit, and safety of this therapy have not been fully established yet. This study was conducted using a total of 60 IBD patients with long-term follow-up from among the 82 patients who visited the IBD Clinic, Song Do Hospital, Seoul, ROK, from Jan. 1994 to Dec. 1996. The effectiveness of CsA was analyzed with respect to induction and maintenance of the remission in the 43 patients with ulcerative colitis(UC) and 17 the patients with Crohn's disease(CD). Treatment on admission was with intravenous CsA (4mg/kg/day) for 7-10 days in 15 patients with UC and in 13 patients with CD. These 28 patients were unresponsive to conventional treatment and had a recurrence of symptoms on refractory to first-line agents. Following the intravenous induction of cyclosporine, the patients continued to receive oral CsA (2.0-5.0mg/Bd.wt/day). In another group, 28 patients with UC and 4 patients with CD who were nonresponsive to or had recurrence of symptoms with first-line agents were treated with oral CsA. The mean period of treatment with CsA was an average of 10 months for CD and 7.5 months for UC. The CsA blood levels were measured by whole blood monoclonal radioimmunoassay, and levels of 200-400 ng per milliliter were obtained. Among the 43 patients with UC, 33 patients had remission (77%) within a mean induction time of 3.2 months and maintained remission for a mean of 7.1 months. Of the 15 patients with UC who had been admitted for CsA IV therapy, all the patients had remission within a mean of 2.8 months and maintained remission for 6.5 months. Among the 17 patients with CD, 9 patients had remission (52.1%) within a mean of 2.7 months and remained in remission for a mean of 8.6 months. Of the 13 patients with CD who had been admitted for CsA IV therapy, 7 patients (53.8%) had remission within a mean of 2.6 months and maintained remission for a mean of 8.0 months. During the management with an average medium dosage of CsA, no serious side effects or toxicity was observed. In this study, initial cyclosporine IV (4mg/kg/day) therapy, followed by PO (2-5mg/kg/day) therapy was effective in achieving remission in ulcerative colitis but not in Crohn's disease, and the initial continuous intravenous infusion of CsA induced a more rapid and prolonged remission than oral CsA. During the induction and maintenance of remission, serious side effects were not found during the period of this study. In cases of acute or severe and refractory inflammatory bowel disease or of recurrence after conventional therapy, the continuous intravenous infusion of CsA for 7-10 days will induce a more rapid and prolonged remission than the oral administration of CsA.