Anal Manometry Examination in Patients With Ulcerative Colitis

Overview

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), which include Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), are chronic immune-related diseases. IBD symptoms frequently overlap with symptoms of functional GI disorders such as irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) and defecatory disorders, and these symptoms are common in patients with active disease, and also in quiescent disease. Underdiagnosis of abnormal anorectal function may result in an inappropriate escalation of IBD therapy. In this study, the investigators aim to evaluate if damage from chronic inflammation in UC results in anorectal damage such as hypersensitive, hyperactive, poorly compliant rectum, and hypotensive sphincter. If this is the case, early aggressive treatment of the disease is needed. Another important point in this study is to find out which of the anorectal symptoms are due to a hypersensitive, hyperactive, and poorly compliant rectum and not due to mucosal inflammation. The diagnosis of abnormal anorectal function via manometry may help to give the appropriate treatment, such as biofeedback or pharmacological treatment such as loperamide or tricyclic anti-depressants. This may avoid escalation or replacing effective IBD therapy unnecessarily.

The study will include patients with ulcerative colitis in clinical, laboratory, and endoscopic remission, and with one of the following symptoms: Urgency, fecal incontinence, incontinence to gas, tenesmus, rectal discomfort, rectal pain, excessive straining and incomplete evacuation. Patients that will not be included: patients after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA), and patients with colonic stenosis that could not be passed with an endoscope. Patients will undergo an anorectal manometry test and the results will be compared to a control group that will include patients with ulcerative colitis in remission without anorectal complaints, as well as to the normal values in the literature.