A Summary of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background: Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic group of inflammatory disorders which can be localised to the colon or spread across the entire gastrointestinal tract. The two main types of IBD are Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis. IBD affects about 1.6 million Americans, most of who are diagnosed before the age of 35 years 1 . IBD can be debilitating as well as lead to life threatening complications. In 2013, IBD accounted for 51,000 deaths worldwide 2 . Death is not caused by IBD itself but by complications of IBD which include bowel perforation and toxic megacolon. There can be extra-intestinal manifestations such as iritis, uveitis, ankylosing spondylitis, primary sclerosing cholangitis, pyodermagangrenosum and erythema nodosum. Individuals with IBD are also at an increased risk of developing colon cancer. Crohn’s disease and Ulcerative colitis can be differentiated by the location of the disease and nature of inflammatory changes. Ulcerative colitis is restricted to the rectum and colon whereas Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the gastrointestinal tract, from the mouth to the anus. In Crohn’s disease there is transmural inflammation (full thickness) whilein Ulcerative colitis there is mucosal and submucosalinvolvement only. It is a lifelong condition in which individuals will experience flare-ups followed by a period of remission in which no symptoms may be experienced.