Colitis

Associate Editor-in-Chief

Associate Editor-in-Chief

Overview
Colitis is a digestive disease characterized by inflammation of the colon.

Signs and symptoms
Signs and symptoms of colitis include pain, tenderness in the abdomen, fever, swelling of the colon tissue, bleeding, erythema (redness) of the surface of the colon, rectal bleeding, and ulcerations of the colon. Common tests which reveal these signs include X-rays of the colon, testing the stool for blood and pus, sigmoidoscopy, and 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.

Types
Types of colitis include ulcerative colitis, Crohn's colitis, diversion colitis, ischemic colitis, infectious colitis, fulminant colitis, chemical colitis, microscopic colitis, lymphocytic colitis, and atypical colitis.

A well-known subtype of infectious colitis is pseudomembranous colitis, which results from infection by a toxigenic strain of Clostridium difficile. Parasitic infections can also cause colitis.

Any colitis with a rapid downhill clinical course is known as fulminant colitis. 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. Approximately half of these patients require surgery.

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.

Complete Differential Diagnosis of the causes of Colitis
(In alphabetical order)


 * Aganglionic Megacolon
 * Albinism
 * Alosetron (patient information)
 * Ampicillin Oral (patient information)
 * Ankylosing Spondylitis
 * Auranofin
 * Autistic enterocolitis
 * Azithromycin
 * Aztreonam Injection (patient information)
 * Bacillary dysentery
 * Bacterial gastroenteritis
 * Behcet disease
 * Campylobacter jejuni
 * Cefaclor
 * Cefadroxil (patient information)
 * Cefamandole Nafate Injection (patient information)
 * Cefazolin Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Cefepime Injection (patient information)
 * Cefoperazone Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Cefotaxime Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Cefotetan Disodium Injection (patient information)
 * Cefoxitin Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Cefpodoxime (patient information)
 * Ceftazidime Injection (patient information)
 * Ceftizoxime Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Ceftriaxone Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Cefuroxime Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Cephalexin (patient information)
 * Cephalosporin
 * Cephradine Oral (patient information)
 * Chemical colitis
 * Chlamydia trachomatis
 * Clindamycin
 * Clostridium difficile
 * Co-amoxiclav
 * Colitis ulcerosa
 * Collagenous colitis
 * Corticosteroid
 * Crohn disease
 * Cryptosporidiosis
 * Cytomegalovirus
 * Cytomegalovirus
 * Darifenacin (patient information)
 * Dental braces
 * Dicloxacillin (patient information)
 * Dirithromycin (patient information)
 * Diversion colitis
 * Enoxacin (patient information)
 * Entamoeba histolytica
 * Ertapenem
 * Erythromycin and Sulfisoxazole (patient information)
 * Escherichia coli O157:H7
 * EVAR
 * Flucytosine
 * Gerson diet
 * Glycopyrrolate (patient information)
 * Hyoscyamine (patient information)
 * Imipenem and Cilastatin Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Infectious colitis
 * Inflammatory bowel disease
 * Irritable bowel syndrome
 * Ischemic colitis
 * Isosporiasis
 * Lanthanum (patient information)
 * Levofloxacin Oral (patient information)
 * Linezolid
 * Lomefloxacin (patient information)
 * Loracarbef (patient information)
 * Lymphocytic colitis
 * Methotrexate (patient information)
 * Miconazole Injection (patient information)
 * Microscopic colitis
 * Milk allergy
 * Moxifloxacin
 * Multiple organ dysfunction syndrome
 * Nafcillin Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Neisseria gonorrhoeae
 * Neonatal necrotizing enterocolitis
 * Norfloxacin (patient information)
 * Ofloxacin injection (patient information)
 * Oxacillin Sodium Injection (patient information)
 * Oxybutynin (patient information)
 * Peginterferon alfa-2a (patient information)
 * Peginterferon alfa-2b (patient information)
 * Penicillin
 * Piperacillin sodium injection (patient information)
 * Prednisolone
 * Procyclidine (patient information)
 * Propantheline (patient information)
 * Pseudoephedrine
 * Pseudomembranous colitis
 * Quinolone
 * Radiation colitis
 * Reserpine (patient information)
 * Scleroderma
 * Sepsis
 * Solifenacin (patient information)
 * Sparfloxacin (patient information)
 * Syphilis
 * Tegaserod (patient information)
 * Treponema pallidum
 * Typhlitis
 * Ulcerative colitis
 * Yersinia enterocolitica

Complete Differential Diagnosis of the Causes of Colitis
(By organ system)

Treatment
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. Surgery is sometimes needed, especially in cases of fulminant colitis. Surgery usually entails removing the colon and bowel and creating a "pouch" with portions of the small intestine.

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.