Chronic atrophic colitis of the intestine: symptoms, treatment

atrophic colitis called inflammatory disease of the colonThe intestine, in which its mucosa is thinned. From the point of view of clinical medicine, such a diagnosis does not exist. Atrophic colitis is the conclusion of a histological examination of a specimen of colon tissue. This term describes the nature of changes in the mucosa, but it does not in any way reflect the causes and severity of the disease, nor does it matter for the treatment to be carried out on an etiological basis.

Causes and mechanisms of development of

It should be understood that atrophic colitis is a histological change in the wall of the large intestine, which can have a variety of causes.

As a rule, prolonged diseases lead to thinning of the mucosa, for example:

1. Crohn's disease.
2. Ulcerative colitis.
3. Allergic colitis.
4. Pseudomembranous colitis.
5. Infectious colitis( parasitic, bacterial or viral).
6. Ischemic colitis.

In the early stages of the inflammatory process, most often in the large intestine develops catarrhal colitis, in which its mucous red and thickened, often covered with exudate and easily bleeding. When microscopic examination of tissues at the stage of catarrhal colitis, edema of the mucosa, small hemorrhages and its infiltration are detected.

As the disease progresses, chronic colitis becomes atrophic, that is, the mucous membrane of the large intestine becomes thinner, and in places is replaced by a granular tissue. At a microscopy in this stage it is possible to detect atrophy and chronic inflammation of the mucous membrane.

Clinical picture

Symptoms of atrophic colitis, like treatment, directly depend on the causes of its development. Nevertheless, it is possible to identify some of the signs found in almost all patients with inflammation of the large intestine.

These belong to :

• Diarrhea - can be watery, with impurities of blood or mucus.
• Abdominal pain - may be permanent, spastic, acute or aching. False desires for defecation( tenesmus).
• .
• Temperature increase. General weakness and fatigue.
• .Deterioration of appetite and weight loss.
• Signs of nutrient deficiency.

Diagnostics

For laboratory diagnosis and detection of the cause of inflammation of the large intestine, a laboratory and instrumental examination is necessary. Laboratory tests help assess the patient's health, and also detect potential problems in patients with atrophic colitis.

Define :

• Levels of electrolytes that can be disturbed in diarrhea.
• Indices of kidney function( urea and creatinine).
• Nonspecific indices of inflammation - erythrocyte sedimentation rate, C-reactive protein.
• Perform a general blood test, which allows an indirect assessment of the severity of bleeding and the degree of inflammation, and analyzes of feces for eggs worm, bacteriological study, coprogram.

Instrumental inspection includes the following methods:

• Colonoscopy - is an endoscopic examination method whereby a physician using a special flexible instrument( colonoscope) examines the internal structure of the large intestine with a video camera and lights. Quite often, only one external mucosa mean we can establish that it is - catarrhal, subatrophic or atrophic colitis, as well as to determine the possible causes of the disease. However, to verify the diagnosis of a colonoscopy, a mucosal biopsy is performed, and tissue samples obtained are sent to the laboratory for histological examination. Sometimes only with the help of a biopsy it is possible to establish the causes of the disease. More about anesthesia with colonoscopy →
• Computed tomography - can be used to visualize the colon and other abdominal organs.
• Irigoscopy - X-ray examination of the large intestine with the help of its contrasting barium.

treatment of atrophic colitis

to know how to treat atrophic intestinal colitis in a particular patient, it is necessary to pinpoint the cause. As a rule, atrophic changes in the mucosa are a consequence of a long pathological process, so without drug therapy, most likely, you will not manage.

If infectious colitis is caused by a bacterial infection, doctors often prescribe antibiotics. Treatment for ischemic colitis is of a supporting nature, intravenous fluid is administered to prevent dehydration. If it is not possible to restore adequate blood flow, surgical removal of the part of the large intestine affected by necrosis may be necessary. With Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed, in the most severe cases, surgical treatment is administered.

Since most cases of atrophic colitis accompanied by diarrhea and abdominal pain, many patients may need pain medication( Paracetamol, Ibuprofen) and protivopronosnye( loperamide, Imodium) drugs.

Diet Diet in atrophic colitis - one of the main methods of treatment, regardless of the cause of the pathology. With the help of proper nutrition, you can help restore the mucosa of the large intestine.

For this purpose, you need to follow the following rules :

• For the treatment of diarrhea in colitis is best to use only the clear liquid food that is absorbed in the stomach and small intestine, allowing the rest of the colon mucosa.
• Depending on the cause of colitis and the individual characteristics of the patient, products that enhance the symptoms of the disease and lead to its aggravation may be excluded. To determine the list of foods that should be avoided, it is useful to keep a special diary in which to note the eaten food and the symptoms of colitis.
• People with certain types of food intolerance should carefully consider the choice of food. For example, patients with lactose intolerance can not use milk products, people with celiac disease should avoid products containing gluten.
• You can not eat fatty, fried food.
• Foods that are high in fiber should be avoided.
• There is a need in small portions, 5-6 times a day.
• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.
• You can not eat chocolate, coffee and drinks containing caffeine.

Prevention

Unfortunately, not all cases of atrophic colitis can be prevented.

Nevertheless, to reduce the risk of developing certain types of inflammation of the large intestine, you can use:

• to comply with personal hygiene regulations;
• consuming clean and safe water;
• timely and effective treatment of other diseases that can lead to impaired blood supply to the large intestine, such as heart disease and blood vessels, hypertension, high cholesterol, diabetes mellitus.

Atrophic colitis is a histological diagnosis that describes the nature of microscopic changes in the mucosa of the large intestine during inflammation. These changes can have various causes, on which the symptoms and treatment of atrophic colitis directly depend.

Author: Taras Nevelichuk, doctor,
specially for Moizhivot.ru

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