Inflammatory bowel disease natural history, complications and prognosis
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Inflammatory Bowel Disease Main page |
Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
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Complications
IBD can limit quality of life due to pain, vomiting, diarrhea, and other socially unacceptable symptoms, it is rarely fatal on its own. Fatalities due to complications such as toxic megacolon, bowel perforation and surgical complications are also rare.
Prognosis
After treatment, the patient is usually switched to a lighter drug with fewer side effects. Every so often an acute resurgence of the original symptoms may appear: this is known as a flare up. Depending on the circumstances, it may go away on its own or require medication. The time between flare ups may be anywhere from weeks to years, and varies wildly between patients, a few have never experienced a flare up.