Colitis

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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]; Associate Editor(s)-in-Chief: M.Umer Tariq [2]; Maham Khan [3]; Rim Halaby, M.D. [4]

Synonyms and keywords: autoimmune colitis, ulcerative colitis, Crohn's colitis, infectious colitis, pseudomembranous colitis, enterohemorrhagic colitis, microscopic colitis, lymphocytic colitis, collagenous colitis, diversion colitis, chemical colitis, ischemic colitis, indeterminate colitis, atypical colitis, fulminant colitis, immune mediated colitis, immune colitis

Overview

Colitis is the inflammation of the colon, that can be either acute or chronic.

Classification

Classes of Colitis	Disorders
Autoimmune colitis	Ulcerative colitis Crohn's colitis
Infectious colitis	Pseudomembranous colitis (Clostridium difficile) Enterohemorrhagic colitis (Shigella dysenteriae or Shigatoxigenic group of Escherichia coli (STEC)) Parasite infection (Entamoeba histolytica)
Microscopic colitis	Lymphocytic colitis Collagenous colitis
Iatrogenic	Diversion colitis Chemical colitis
Vacular disease	Ischemic colitis
Unclassifiable	Indeterminate colitis (features of both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis) Atypical colitis

Notes:

• Fulminant colitis is any colitis with a rapid downhill clinical course; in addition to the diarrhea, fever, and anemia seen in colitis, the patient has severe abdominal pain and presents a clinical picture similar to that of septicemia, where shock is present.
• Irritable bowel syndrome, a separate disease, has been called spastic colitis or spastic colon. This name causes confusion, since colitis is not a feature of irritable bowel syndrome.
• Immune mediated colitis is the experimental name in animal studies of ulcerative colitis. It is a synonym of ulcerative colitis, but it should not be used as a synonym when referring to ulcerative colitis.

Causes

Life Threatening Causes

Life-threatening causes include conditions which may result in death or permanent disability within 24 hours if left untreated.

Common Causes

• Crohn's disease
• Inflammatory bowel disease
• Ischemic colitis
• Pseudomembranous colitis
• Ulcerative colitis

Causes by Organ System

Cardiovascular	EVAR, vasculitis
Chemical / poisoning	Chemical colitis, lanthanum
Dental	Dental braces
Dermatologic	Albinism, Behcet disease, scleroderma, vasculitis
Drug Side Effect	Alosetron, ampicillin Oral, auranofin, azithromycin, aztreonam Injection, cefaclor, cefadroxil, cefamandole Nafate Injection, cefazolin Sodium Injection, cefepime Injection, cefepime, cefoperazone Sodium Injection, cefotaxime Sodium Injection, cefotetan Disodium Injection, cefoxitin Sodium Injection, cefpodoxime, ceftazidime Injection, ceftazidime, ceftizoxime Sodium Injection, ceftriaxone Sodium Injection, cefuroxime Sodium Injection, cephalexin, cephalosporin, cephradine Oral, cidofovir, cilansetron, clindamycin, co-amoxiclav, corticosteroid, darifenacin, desogestrel and ethinyl estradiol, dicloxacillin, dirithromycin, enoxacin, ertapenem, erythromycin and Sulfisoxazole, flucytosine, glycopyrrolate, hyoscyamine, idelalisib, imipenem and Cilastatin Sodium Injection, ipilimumab, ixabepilone, levofloxacin Oral, lincomycin hydrochloride, linezolid, lomefloxacin, loracarbef, methotrexate, miconazole Injection, moxifloxacin, nafcillin Sodium Injection, nivolumab, norfloxacin, ofloxacin injection, oxacillin Sodium Injection, oxcarbazepine, oxybutynin, peginterferon alfa-2a, penicillin, pergolide, piperacillin sodium injection, pramipexole, prednisolone, procyclidine, propantheline, pseudoephedrine, quinolone, ramosetron, reserpine, solifenacin, sparfloxacin, tegaserod
Ear Nose Throat	No underlying causes
Endocrine	No underlying causes
Environmental	No underlying causes
Gastroenterologic	Aganglionic megacolon, alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency, autistic enterocolitis, bacterial gastroenteritis, cap polyposis, chemical colitis, colitis ulcerosa, collagenous colitis, colonic ischemia, Crohn's disease, diversion colitis, diverticulosis, Gerson diet, infectious colitis, inflammatory bowel disease, intestinal ischemia, irritable bowel syndrome, ischemic colitis, lymphocytic colitis, microscopic colitis, multiple organ dysfunction syndrome, primary sclerosing cholangitis, protein losing enteropathy, pseudomembranous colitis, radiation colitis, radiation proctitis, solitary rectal ulcer syndrome, toxic megacolon, typhilitis, ulcerative colitis
Genetic	Albinism, alpha 1-antitrypsin deficiency
Hematologic	No underlying causes
Iatrogenic	Diversion colitis, EVAR, radiation colitis, radiation proctitis
Infectious Disease	Bacillary dysentery, bacterial gastroenteritis, balantidium coli, campylobacter jejuni, chlamydia trachomatis, clostridium difficile, cryptosporidiosis, cytomegalovirus, entamoeba histolytica, escherichia coli O157:H7, giardiasis, infectious colitis, isosporiasis, neisseria gonorrhoeae, neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis, pigbel, salmonella, schistosoma, sepsis, shigella, strongyloides stercoralis, syphilis, treponema pallidum, yersinia enterocolitica
Musculoskeletal / Ortho	Ankylosing Spondylitis
Neurologic	No underlying causes
Nutritional / Metabolic	Gerson diet, lysinuric protein intolerance, milk allergy, pigbel, soy protein
Obstetric/Gynecologic	No underlying causes
Oncologic	No underlying causes
Opthalmologic	No underlying causes
Overdose / Toxicity	No underlying causes
Psychiatric	Autistic enterocolitis
Pulmonary	Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
Renal / Electrolyte	Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
Rheum / Immune / Allergy	Ankylosing spondylitis, Behcet disease, common variable immunodeficiency, milk allergy, scleroderma, vasculitis
Sexual	No underlying causes
Trauma	No underlying causes
Urologic	No underlying causes
Miscellaneous	Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome

Causes in Alphabetical Order

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Diagnosis

Symptoms

• Diarrhea
• Abdominal pain
• Rectal bleeding

Physical Examination

• Abdominal tenderness
• Fever
• Hypotension and tachycardia

Diagnostic Tests

Colitis is associated with the following findings:

• Swelling of the colon tissue
• Bleeding
• Erythema (redness) of the surface of the colon
• Ulcerations of the colon

Common tests which reveal these signs include:

• X-rays of the colon
• Testing the stool for blood and pus
• Sigmoidoscopy
• Colonoscopy

Additional tests include stool cultures and blood tests, including blood chemistry tests. A high erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is one typical finding in acute exacerbations of colitis.

Treatment

Medical Therapy

Treatment of colitis may include the administration of antibiotics and general anti-inflammatory medications such as Mesalamine or its derivatives, steroids, or one of a number of other drugs that ameliorate inflammation.

Changes in diet can be effective at treating the symptoms of colitis and easing the side effects. These can include reducing the intake of carbohydrates, lactose products, soft drinks, and caffeine. This approach has been championed by Elaine Gottschall.

Hygienic and naturopathic doctors have taken the diet approach further, attributing bowel inflammation to toxemia stemming from high-protein, fatty diets and other dietary irritants. Changing to a low-fat, minimally-processed, whole-foods diet per the Natural Hygiene self-healing system has been effective in eliminating symptoms and rebuilding health. Dr. Zarin Azar, MD,, is one advocate of this healing system.

Infliximab (or REMICADE) - a drug originally produced to treat Rheumatoid Arthritis - has recently been approved for the treatment of Colitis where traditional treatments have failed. REMICADE is a biologic therapy that recognizes, attaches to, and blocks the action of a protein in your body called tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). TNF-alpha is made by certain blood cells in your body. It is administered through a series of infusions.

Surgery

Approximately half of patients with fulminant colitis require surgery. Surgery usually entails removing the colon and bowel and creating a "pouch" with portions of the small intestine.

References

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