Demographic and Clinical Features of Ulcerative Colitis Patients in Kerman City during 2005-2007

Background & Aims: Ulcerative colitis is one of the inflammatory bowel diseases with unknown etiology. Genetic and environmental factors are thought to be effective in this disease. According to the limited studies in our country, general assessment of demographic features and clinical symptoms seems to be essential. Methods: In this prospective and cross-sectional study, 85 cases of ulcerative colitis referred to the 3 gastroenterologist offices in Kerman city were evaluated during 2005-2007. The diagnosis was confirmed based on clinical features, colonoscopy, pathology and ruling out of other causes. Data were collected through direct interview and analyzed by SPSS 15 software. Results: Mean age at the time of diagnosis was 33.3113.12. Duration of symptoms onset until diagnosis was 8 months. Male to female ratio was 0.8/1 and the most important clinical manifestations were rectorhagia and bloody diarrhea (92.9%), abdominal pain (20%), mucoid diarrhea (13.1%), weight loss (11.2%) and fever (4.4%). The pattern of disease was chronic intermittent in 83.5%, chronic continuous in 13% and acute self-limited in 3.5%. Anatomically disease was limited to the rectum (8.3%), recto sigmoid (23.5%), recto sigmoid and descending colon (28.5%), transverse colon (21.2%) and pan colitis. (18.8%). Extra intestinal manifestations were seen in 22.35% of cases of whom 12.96% had oral involvement, 5.85% had hepatic involvement and 3.53% had musculoskeletal involvement. Conclusion: Recurrent inflammatory bowel disease is one of the important reasons of referral to gastroenterologists. Ulcerative coilitis in Kerman is similar to other countries of world epidemiologically, demographically and clinically but its seems that severe clinical courses, extra intestinal manifestations and second old age peak to be less comparing to other studies.