7.2 Inflammatory bowel disease Flashcards
What defines IBD
A group of related conditions characterized by idiopathic inflammation of GIT
Conditions that cause macroscopic inflammation.
What are the 2 main non-specific IBDs?
What part of the GIT do they normally affect?
1) Ulcerative Colitis: only large bowel
2) Crohns Disease: small and or large bowel
Give 4 other causes of Colitis
- Drugs esp NSAIDs
- Ischaemic colitis
- Radiation colitis
- Diverticular colitis
- Microscopic colitis
- Collagenous colitis
- Infectious colitis
What are the 3 mains causes of IBD
1) Genetic susceptibility
2) Immune dysregulation
3) Environmental trigger
Give 4 triggers of IBD
Antibiotics Diet Acute Infections NSAIDs Smoking Stress
What is Crohn’s disease?
Chronic relapsing and remitting inflammatory disease of the digestive tract
What are the characteristics of Crohn’s disease
- Asymmetric
- Transmural involvement of the bowel wall
- Chronic Inflammatory process with non-caseating granulomas
Where are granulomatous infections seen in Crohn’s most commonly located
Frequently affects terminal ileum (but can affect any part of the GI tract)
What are the 2 main histological features of Crohn’s
1) Large epitheloid granulomas
2) Multinucleated giant cells
Compare the association with autoimmune disease in Crohn’s vs UC
UC: strong association with autoimmune disease eg hashimoto’s thyroiditis, SLE
Crohns: weak association with autoimmune disease
Compare the association with autoantibody production in Crohn’s vs UC
(Humoral component)
UC: common associated with autoantibody production eg anticolon antibody, perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibody (pANCA)
Crohn’s: rare association with autoantibody production
Compare the Mucosal infiltration in Crohn’s vs UC
cell-mediated component
UC: Non granulomatous and neutrophil prominent
Crohn’s: Granulomatous and T cells prominent
Compare the T-cell reactivity in Crohn’s vs UC
cell-mediated component
UC: Normal or decreased
Crohn’s: Increased
List the clinical features of Crohn’s
- Diarrohea (chronic or nocturnal)
- Abdominal pain
- Weight loss
- Fatigue
- Anorexia or fever
- Abdominal mass or tenderness
- Intestinal obstruction
- May present with acute onset abdominal pain
- May mimic appendicitis
What is Ulcerative colitis
Chronic inflammation of part or the whole of the mucosa of the large bowel, diffusely inflamed and may ulcerate
What are the characteristics of UC
- only effects the colon (usually starts in rectum and extends proximally)
- continuous inflammation– no skip lesions (symmetrical)
- Circumferential
- Uninterrupted pattern
What parts of the GI tract does UC affect
The colon, Inflammation effects only the mucosa and submucosa
What are the 3 types of pattern of distributions seen in UC
1) Proctitis (rectum)
2) Left sided colitis (extends from the rectum up the colon and stops at the splenic flexure)
3) Pancolitis (entire large intestine)
What is the aetiology is UC/ what is a potential theory?
aetiology is unclear
theory: autoimmune disease caused by an inflammatory response to normal colonic microflora