Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) adalah penyakit peradangan kronik pada usus yang
disebabkan oleh sistem imun. Terdapat 2 tipe mayor penyakit ini yaitu Kolitis ulseratif
(Ulcerative colitis) dan penyakit Crohn (Crohn's disease).
Epidemiologi
Insidensi IBD bervariasi pada daerah yang berbeda. Insidensi tertinggi untuk UC maupun
CD terjadi di Eropa, Inggris dan Amerika Utara. Di Amerika Utara, rentang insidensi UC terjadi
pada 2.2 14.3 kasus per 100.000 orang pertahun dan CD pada 3.1 14.6 kasus per 100.000
orang pertahun. Menurut laporan dari Amerika, Polandia, Denmark dan Korea Selatan, terjadi
peningkatan insidensi IBD pediatri secara signifikan dimana mortalitas tertinggi terjadi pada
tahun pertama penyakit dan mortalitas pada jangka panjang disebabkan oleh peningkatan resiko
kanker kolon. Pada studi populasi di Denmark, rasio mortalitas CD dan UC adalah 1.31 dan 1.1.
UC is a mucosal disease that usually involves the rectum and extends proximally to involve all or
part of the colon. About 4050% of patients have disease limited to the rectum and rectosigmoid,
3040% have disease extending beyond the sigmoid but not involving the whole colon, and 20%
have a total colitis. Proximal spread occurs in continuity without areas of uninvolved mucosa.
When the whole colon is involved, the inflammation extends 23 cm into the terminal ileum in
1020% of patients. The endoscopic changes of backwash ileitis are superficial and mild and are
of little clinical significance. Although variations in macroscopic activity may suggest skip areas,
biopsies from normal-appearing mucosa are usually abnormal. Thus, it is important to obtain
multiple biopsies from apparently uninvolved mucosa, whether proximal or distal, during
endoscopy. One caveat is that effective medical therapy can change the appearance of the
mucosa such that either skip areas or the entire colon can be microscopically normal.
With mild inflammation, the mucosa is erythematous and has a fine granular surface that
resembles sandpaper. In more severe disease, the mucosa is hemorrhagic, edematous, and
ulcerated (Fig. 295-1) In long-standing disease, inflammatory polyps (pseudopolyps) may be
present as a result of epithelial regeneration. The mucosa may appear normal in remission, but in
patients with many years of disease it appears atrophic and featureless, and the entire colon
becomes narrowed and shortened. Patients with fulminant disease can develop a toxic colitis or
megacolon where the bowel wall thins and the mucosa is severely ulcerated; this may lead to
perforation.
Ulcerative colitis. Diffuse (nonsegmental) mucosal disease, with broad areas of ulceration.
The bowel wall is not thickened, and there is no cobblestoning.
Clinical Presentation
Ulcerative Colitis
Signs and Symptoms
The major symptoms of UC are diarrhea, rectal bleeding, tenesmus, passage of mucus, and
crampy abdominal pain. The severity of symptoms correlates with the extent of disease.
Although UC can present acutely, symptoms usually have been present for weeks to months.
Occasionally, diarrhea and bleeding are so intermittent and mild that the patient does not seek
medical attention.
Patients with proctitis usually pass fresh blood or blood-stained mucus, either mixed with stool
or streaked onto the surface of a normal or hard stool. They also have tenesmus, or urgency with
a feeling of incomplete evacuation, but rarely have abdominal pain. With proctitis or
proctosigmoiditis, proximal transit slows, which may account for the constipation commonly
seen in patients with distal disease.
When the disease extends beyond the rectum, blood is usually mixed with stool or grossly
bloody diarrhea may be noted. Colonic motility is altered by inflammation with rapid transit
through the inflamed intestine. When the disease is severe, patients pass a liquid stool containing
blood, pus, and fecal matter. Diarrhea is often nocturnal and/or postprandial. Although severe
pain is not a prominent symptom, some patients with active disease may experience vague lower
abdominal discomfort or mild central abdominal cramping. Severe cramping and abdominal pain
can occur with severe attacks of the disease. Other symptoms in moderate to severe disease
include anorexia, nausea, vomiting, fever, and weight loss.
Physical signs of proctitis include a tender anal canal and blood on rectal examination. With
more extensive disease, patients have tenderness to palpation directly over the colon. Patients
with a toxic colitis have severe pain and bleeding, and those with megacolon have hepatic
tympany. Both may have signs of peritonitis if a perforation has occurred. The classification of
disease activity is shown in Table 295-4.