CLINICAL PROFILE OF ULCERATIVE COLITIS

Objectives: To study the clinical profile of ulcerative colitis (UC) in patients admitted to a tertiary care hospital in Peshawar.Material and Methods: The study was conducted in the Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology,Postgraduate Medical Institute Hayatabad Medical Complex, Peshawar, from January 2007 to December 2008. Atotal of hundred patients of previously established as well as newly diagnosed cases of ulcerative colitis wereincluded in the study. A detailed history was taken and a thorough physical examination was performed on everypatient. All patients were investigated with flexible sigmoidoscopy/ Colonoscopy and findings were recorded on astandard proforma. The results were analyzed using SPSS version 10.Results: Out of 100 patients studied, 64 (64%) were male and 36 (36%) were female. The majority (56%) of patientswere between 10 -30 years of age.The age range was 5 -70 years. The mean age was 26.08 years. Eighty percent ofthe patients were from Northern areas and 16% from Southern areas of NWFP. Ninety percent of patients presentedwith intestinal symptoms like bloody diarrhoea and abdominal pain. Clinically 56% of the patients had severedisease, 24% moderate disease and 20% had mild disease. On colonoscopy 12% of the patients had proctosigmoiditis,56% left sided colitis and 32% had pancolitis. Twenty six percent of patients presented with extra intestinalmanifestations.Conclusion: Ulcerative colitis is more common in young males, most of them present with severe disease and extraintestinal manifestations are not very rare.