UC in China: Retrospective Analysis of 3100 Hospitalized Patients
UC in China: Retrospective Analysis of 3100 Hospitalized Patients
Background and Aims: This retrospective study analyzed the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in China.
Methods: A total of 3100 hospitalized patients with UC admitted to 23 hospitals in China from 1990 to 2003 were retrospectively investigated and their clinical characteristics were analyzed.
Results: A male/female ratio of 1.34/1.00 was found in the 3100 patients, who had an average age of 44 ± 15.1 years at diagnosis. Of the patients, 2972 (95.9%) had active UC. Active UC was mild in 35.4% of the 2972 patients, moderate in 42.9% and severe in 21.7%. Of the 2726 patients with a description of their lesion extent, 14.8% had proctitis, 26.4% had proctosigmoiditis, 25.0% had left-sided colitis, 6.3% had extensive colitis, 25.8% had pancolitis and 1.7% had regional colitis. The predominant complaints of the patients with UC were bloody diarrhea (48.2%), abdominal pain (67.3%) and mucus stools (58.4%). Among these patients, 13.6% had extraintestinal manifestations and 9.6% had related complications. A differential diagnosis was difficult to make, as there were 19 varieties of the disease; infectious enterocolitis had a misdiagnosis rate of 22.9% before admission. The main medications for UC in China were aminosalicylates (66.8%) and steroids (42.8%). Only 94 (3%) of the patients required colectomy and only 19 (0.6%) died of UC.
Conclusions: Compared with UC in Western countries, ulcerative colitis in China has some differences in clinical characteristics. Therefore, a further population-based epidemiological study is required to determine the prevalence and incidence rates of UC in China.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of chronic inflammatory bowel disease of unknown etiology. It is unclear if genetic predisposition or environmental factors play a major role in its pathogenesis. UC occurs with a variable frequency in different populations. Differences in the incidence and the clinical characteristics of UC in different parts of the world may provide some clues to the causes of the disease. The incidence and prevalence rates are higher in the USA, northern Europe and other Westernized countries, but they are much lower in Asia, southern Europe and Africa. The incidence of UC appears to have stabilized in Western countries; however, the incidence of UC has been rising in countries where UC used to be less common. In China, more and more UC cases have been reported in the medical literature over recent years, but there have been no data about the clinical characteristics and the natural history of UC on a large scale with many medical centers involved. Therefore, the epidemiology of UC in China remains unknown.
The aim of this study was to define the demographic features and clinical characteristics in a relatively large group of hospitalized patients with UC in China during a 14-year period. These data would be helpful in an observation of an increase in UC incidence and prevalence in China, and could provide more valuable information for the proper diagnosis, management and prevention of the disease.
Abstract and Introduction
Abstract
Background and Aims: This retrospective study analyzed the clinical characteristics of hospitalized patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) in China.
Methods: A total of 3100 hospitalized patients with UC admitted to 23 hospitals in China from 1990 to 2003 were retrospectively investigated and their clinical characteristics were analyzed.
Results: A male/female ratio of 1.34/1.00 was found in the 3100 patients, who had an average age of 44 ± 15.1 years at diagnosis. Of the patients, 2972 (95.9%) had active UC. Active UC was mild in 35.4% of the 2972 patients, moderate in 42.9% and severe in 21.7%. Of the 2726 patients with a description of their lesion extent, 14.8% had proctitis, 26.4% had proctosigmoiditis, 25.0% had left-sided colitis, 6.3% had extensive colitis, 25.8% had pancolitis and 1.7% had regional colitis. The predominant complaints of the patients with UC were bloody diarrhea (48.2%), abdominal pain (67.3%) and mucus stools (58.4%). Among these patients, 13.6% had extraintestinal manifestations and 9.6% had related complications. A differential diagnosis was difficult to make, as there were 19 varieties of the disease; infectious enterocolitis had a misdiagnosis rate of 22.9% before admission. The main medications for UC in China were aminosalicylates (66.8%) and steroids (42.8%). Only 94 (3%) of the patients required colectomy and only 19 (0.6%) died of UC.
Conclusions: Compared with UC in Western countries, ulcerative colitis in China has some differences in clinical characteristics. Therefore, a further population-based epidemiological study is required to determine the prevalence and incidence rates of UC in China.
Introduction
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a type of chronic inflammatory bowel disease of unknown etiology. It is unclear if genetic predisposition or environmental factors play a major role in its pathogenesis. UC occurs with a variable frequency in different populations. Differences in the incidence and the clinical characteristics of UC in different parts of the world may provide some clues to the causes of the disease. The incidence and prevalence rates are higher in the USA, northern Europe and other Westernized countries, but they are much lower in Asia, southern Europe and Africa. The incidence of UC appears to have stabilized in Western countries; however, the incidence of UC has been rising in countries where UC used to be less common. In China, more and more UC cases have been reported in the medical literature over recent years, but there have been no data about the clinical characteristics and the natural history of UC on a large scale with many medical centers involved. Therefore, the epidemiology of UC in China remains unknown.
The aim of this study was to define the demographic features and clinical characteristics in a relatively large group of hospitalized patients with UC in China during a 14-year period. These data would be helpful in an observation of an increase in UC incidence and prevalence in China, and could provide more valuable information for the proper diagnosis, management and prevention of the disease.
Source...