Inflammatory%20bowel%20disease Signs and Symptoms

• Consists of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease (CD)
  
  • UC: Diffuse mucosal inflammation limited to the colon
  • CD: Patchy, transmural inflammation that can occur in any part of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract
    
    • Ileum and colon are the most frequently affected sites

General Symptoms

Depend on the segment of the intestinal tract involved

• Chronic diarrhea or constipation
• Abdominal pain and cramps
• Blood in stool
• Pain with bowel movement
• Urgency in bowel movement
• Tenesmus
• Reduced appetite
• Weight loss
• Fever
• Fatigue
• Growth retardation
• Primary amenorrhea
• Night sweats
• Joint pain and swelling/redness

Clinical Features

Ulcerative Colitis 

• Cardinal symptoms: Bloody diarrhea, frequent, small volume
• Associated symptoms: Colicky abdominal pain, tenesmus, urgency
• Characterized by a relapsing and remitting course

Crohn's Disease 

• Chronic diarrhea, abdominal pain, weight loss
• Abdominal mass, perianal lesions, stomatitis, fissures and fistulas
• Malaise, fever, anorexia are more common with CD than UC

• Smoking is a risk factor for CD but has a protective factor for UC through unknown mechanism
• Age - most people are diagnosed between 15 and 35 years
  • Early-onset (occurring <40 years) disease is more aggressive and has a less favorable course, requiring more immunomodulators and surgical intervention compared with late-onset disease
• UC affects men and women equally, while CD is more frequent in women
• Family history
• Recent episodes of infectious gastroenteritis
• Use of non-selective nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) may exacerbate UC
• Appendectomy for proven appendicitis during childhood or adolescence is associated with reduced risk of UC in adulthood