Prevalence, Pathogenesis, Diagnosis, and Management of Microscopic Colitis.
Microscopic colitis (MC), which is comprised of lymphocytic colitis and collagenous colitis, is a clinicopathological diagnosis that is commonly encountered in clinical practice during the evaluation and management of chronic diarrhea. With an incidence approaching the incidence of inflammatory bowel disease, physician awareness is necessary, as diagnostic delays result in a poor quality of life and increased health care costs. The physician faces multiple challenges in the diagnosis and management of MC, as these patients frequently relapse after successful treatment. This review article outlines the risk factors associated with MC, the clinical presentation, diagnosis and histologic findings, as well as a proposed treatment algorithm. Prospective studies are required to better understand the natural history and to develop validated histologic endpoints that may be used as end points in future clinical trials and serve to guide patient management.
['Gentile|Nicole|N|', 'Yen|Eugene F|EF|']
D002446:Celiac Disease D046728:Colitis, Microscopic D003967:Diarrhea D005260:Female D006801:Humans D008297:Male D011788:Quality of Life D012307:Risk Factors D012907:Smoking
Colitis, collagenous Colitis, lymphocytic Colitis, microscopic