Clinical characteristics and endoscopic findings of 68 patients with ischemic colitis

Objective To analyze endoscope and clinical features of ischemic colitis( IC),to improve its diagnosis and treatment,and to lower the rates of missed and erroneous diagnosis. Methods 68 patients with ischemic colitis were retrospectively reviewed for their clinical features,endoscopic findings,clinicopathological characteristics and treatments. Results The majority of patients were over the age of 60 years. Most of the cases were associated with some underlying diseases such as hypertension,diabetes,coronary heart disease and atherosclerotic disease. Clinical symptoms associated with IC included sudden onset of left lower quadrant abdominal pain,hematochezia and diarrhea. The lesions were mainly located at left side colon with segmental form. In our studies,there were 59 cases with transient or reversible colitis,9 cases with stricture colitis and no case with necrotic colitis. Conclusion Ischemic colitis mainly occurs in aged patients. Most of the cases were with basic diseases. Early colonoscopy with biopsy plays an important role in diagnosis of IC. Early diagnosis and proper therapy are vital for its prognosis.