Prostanoids in ulcerative colitis.

The aim of this study was to establish the usefulness of Tc-99m human polyclonal immunoglobulin (HIG) imaging in a group of patients who were suspected of having inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The authors performed 30 scans (15 with Tc-99m HMPAO leukocytes and 15 with Tc-99m HIG) on 15 patients with IBD. Ten patients had Crohn's disease and five had ulcerative colitis. The sensitivity of Tc-99m HIG scintigraphy for detecting IBD was 33%, while the sensitivity of Tc-99m HMPAO leukocyte imaging was 100%. The Tc-99m HMPAO leukocyte imaging also detected a larger number of affected segments and provided better image quality of the extent of disease than Tc-99m HIG. On the basis of these results, the authors believe that Tc-99m HIG imaging is not a useful technique in the evaluation of patients with IBD, in the identification of location, or the extension or degree of disease activity.

Colitis, Ulcerative↗

PubMed1997

Screening and surveillance of ulcerative colitis.

There is an increased risk of colorectal cancer in patients who have had an attack of chronic ulcerative colitis, and there is evidence to suggest that patients with Crohn's disease are also at risk. It is difficult to give a precise estimate of the increased danger that patients with inflammatory bowel disease have over the normal population because published results are inconsistent. Twenty years ago patients with long-standing extensive ulcerative colitis were often advised to undergo proctocolectomy to protect against the development of cancer, but since then most physicians have adopted a policy of regular colonoscopic surveillance in an attempt to detect early cancer or pre-cancer. When published studies of surveillance results are critically analyzed, it appears that relatively little benefit accrues from this approach. Better methods of surveillance are needed to determine which individuals with chronic ulcerative colitis are most likely to develop cancer.

Colitis, Ulcerative↗