대한대장항문학회

Ulcerative colitis is a diffuse inflammatory disease of the mucosal lining of the colon<br>and the rectum without an apparent cause. It is common in European and North<br>American countries, but rare in Korea. We reviewed 59 cases, who were diagnosed by<br>clinical findings, barium enema, and colonoscopic biopsy from March 1988 to Febrary<br>1996 at the EWHA University hospital.<br>The most prevalent age group was the third decade(32.20%) and a male to female sex<br>ratio was 1 : 1.68 with 22 males and 37 females. The most prominent clinical symptoms<br>were bloody stool(84.7%), diarrhea(61.0%), and abdominal pain(53.2%). The duration of<br>the symptoms was less than 1 month in 38.98%, between 1 and 5 month in 16.9%, more<br>than 6 months in 43.95%. For the anatomical site of the lesion, 28.8% of the cases were<br>in the rectum alone, and 23.7% of the cases were in the entire colon. The laboratory<br>fading showed Hemoglobin level below 10 g/dL in 13 of the 57 cases studied, and an<br>albumin level below 3.0 g/dL in 10 of the 54 cases, ESR below 20 mm/hr in 2 of the 17<br>cases studied. The endoscopic examination showed positive findings in all of the 58<br>cases among the 58 cases studied. The barium enema examination showed positive<br>findings in 26 cases among 31 cases. Of 59 cases that were studied, 58 cases were<br>treated by medical therapy, and showed relative improvement but 1 of 59 cases had no<br>improvement. Among the cases that showed a significant improvement, 31 cases had<br>relapsed. Of the 59 cases, 7 cases were operated and completely cured.<br>