Clinical Improvement of Severe Ulcerative Colitis after Incidental Appendectomy: A Case Report / 대한소화기학회지

Recent reports have demonstrated a negative association between appendectomy and ulcerative colitis. Many retrospective studies have shown that appendectomy appears to be protective against ulcerative colitis. Although the function of appendix is not known, all these studies have suggested that alterations in mucosal immune responses leading to appendicitis or resulting from appendectomy may negatively affect the pathogenic mechanisms of ulcerative colitis. Herein, we report a 45-year-old man who was diagnosed as severe ulcerative colitis 2 years ago. Colonoscopy revealed a feature of pancolitis. He has been treated with several courses of corticosteroids over 2 years. However, dosage of steroid was not tappered down because of the recurrence of symptoms. He was admitted with a diagnosis of acute appendicitis, and underwent appendectomy. Two months after the appendectomy, clinical symptoms and colonoscopic findings improved gradually. Two years after the appendectomy, the patient improved without the recurrences of symptoms, and is stably treated with sulfasalazine alone.

Predictores de colectomía en enfermos con colitis ulcerativa crónica inespecífica (CUCI). Análisis de una cohorte de 184 casos / Predictors of colectomy in patients with ulcerative colitis A cohort analysis of 184 cases

Background. At the present time procto-colectomy is the only potentially curative therapeutic measure for patients with ulcerative colitis (UC). Due to its morbidity and mortality, several prognostic indexes have been proposed to identify subjects in whom surgery could be beneficial. However, they have limited availability or they are very cumbersome for the individual patient. Aim. To analyze demographic, clinical and biochemical variables in a group of 184 Mexican patients with UC in order to identify predicting factors for procto-colectomy. Patients and methods. Subjects were divided into two groups: A. Those in whom a procto-colectomy was performed (n = 52) and B. Patients on medical treatment (n = 132). Continuous variables were analyzed by means of the Student's t test and categorical variables by means of chi-square statistic. A multivariate analysis was performed using logistic regression. Results. The main indication for surgery was failure to medical treatment (78%). Procto-colectomy was elective in 28 cases and an emergency procedure in 14 (7 failures to medical treatment, 4 colonic perforations, 2 toxic megacolons and 1 uncontrolled hemorrhage). All operated subjects had pancolitis and showed more bloody bowel movements per day (> 10), fever (> 38.5 °C), tachycardia, hipoalbuminemia and hospitalizations. Only hypoalbuminemia in subjects with universal colitis was consistently associated to procto-colectomy. Conclusion. Pancolitis, hypoalbuminemia and previous hospitalizations were the strongest predictors of procto-colectomy in our cohort. Thus, serum protein determinations can be useful in patients with universal UC to decide surgical therapy. KEY WORDS. Inflammatory bowel disease. Ulcerative colitis. Proctocolectomy. Pancolitis.

Antecedentes. La proctocolectomía (PC) es la única medida terapéutica potencialmente curativa en los enfermos con colitis ulcerativa crónica inespecífica (CUCI), sin embargo, no está exenta de riesgos. Se han propuesto varios métodos para identificar a los pacientes que podrían beneficiarse de una intervención quirúrgica oportuna.Objetivo. Analizar las características demográficas, clínicas y bioquímicas de una cohorte de 184 personas con diagnóstico confirmado de CUCI para establecer factores predictores de PC. Material y métodos. Los pacientes fueron divididos en dos grupos: A. Los sometidos a proctocolectomía (n = 52) y B. los no operados (n = 132). Se analizaron datos clínicos, bioquímicos y las indicaciones del tratamiento quirúrgico. Las variables continuas fueron evaluadas con la prueba t de Student. Las categóricas con Ji cuadrada. Se realizó un análisis univariado para identificar las diferencias entre los grupos y aquellas que resultaron con valor estadístico fueron sometidas a un análisis multivariado de regresión logística que se aplicó sólo al grupo de colitis universal. Resultados. Cuarenta y dos de los 54 enfermos operados fueron intervenidos por falta de respuesta al tratamiento médico (78%). En 38 casos la cirugía se practicó de manera electiva y en 14 urgente (siete por falla al tratamiento médico intensivo, cuatro por perforación, dos por megacolon tóxico y uno por hemorragia incontrolable). Los enfermos que fueron operados presentaron todos colitis universal, así como mayor número de evacuaciones con sangre por día (> 10), fiebre (> 38.5 °C), taquicardia, hipoalbuminemia e historia de hospitalizaciones. Las características que mantuvieron una diferencia estadística en el análisis multivariado fueron la hipoalbuminemia y la historia de hospitalizaciones múltiples. Las manifestaciones extraintestinales confirieron una protección marginal. Conclusión. La colitis universal, hipoalbuminemia y el número de hospitalizaciones previas fueron los principales predictores de PC en la población analizada. Es posible que la principal información se obtenga al seguir a los enfermos con pancolitis con niveles séricos de proteínas. En estos casos, un nivel persistentemente bajo de albúmina y múltiples cuadros previos de actividad grave pueden utilizarse para tomar decisiones en cuanto al tratamiento quirúrgico oportuno.

Analysis of the clinical, pathological and endoscopic features of patients with ulcerative pancolitis and distal colitis / 中华消化杂志

Objective To investigate the clinical, pathological and endoscopic features of patients with ulcerative pancolitis (PUC) and distal colitis (DUC) and their differentiations. Methods The clinical, pathological and endoscopic data of 52 patients with PUC and 97 patients with DUC were analyzed by case-control study. Results The incidence and the frequency of bloody stool in patients with PUC were both higher than those in DUC (90.38% vs. 71.13%, P