Collagenous colitis

Collagenous colitis was first described in 1976 by Lindström as an unusual cause of persistent, watery diarrhea. He noted a large subepithelial band of collagen deposited in the rectum and the colon. Collagenous colitis occurs predominantly in females and is more frequent in the elderly. Radiographi...

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Bibliographic Details
Published inUgeskrift for læger Vol. 156; no. 2; p. 194
Main Authors Jarløv, A E, Gjørup, I E, Thomsen, O O
Format Journal Article
LanguageDanish
Published Denmark 10.01.1994
Subjects
Aged
Chronic Disease
Colitis - complications
Colitis - metabolism
Colitis - pathology
Collagen - metabolism
Diagnosis, Differential
Diarrhea - diagnosis
Diarrhea - etiology
Female
Humans
Intestinal Mucosa - pathology
Middle Aged
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Summary:Collagenous colitis was first described in 1976 by Lindström as an unusual cause of persistent, watery diarrhea. He noted a large subepithelial band of collagen deposited in the rectum and the colon. Collagenous colitis occurs predominantly in females and is more frequent in the elderly. Radiographic examination of the colon is unremarkable, and the patients show no signs of malabsorption. The diagnosis requires biopsy specimens from the colon, as the disease is focal and less frequently affects the rectum. Biopsies taken only from the rectum cannot exclude the diagnosis. For the time being there is no consensus as to the treatment of the disease. We describe two patients with collagenous colitis successfully treated with prednisolone. The diagnostic importance of total colonoscopy with multiple biopsies in a normal-appearing colon in patients with unexplained chronic watery diarrhea is stressed.
ISSN:0041-5782