Colitis Complications Colitis Bleeding

Colitis complications and colitis bleeding

        This is a great complication of colonic diverticular disease. It appears depending on its severity by diverticulitis, an abscess or peritonitis.

• Diverticulitis is an infection of a diverticulum sealed by a stercoral residue or food debris. There is a localized pain with fever and biological signs of infection. Repeated outbreaks of diverticulitis leads to extensive inflammation of the colon which is called the "Sigmoid diverticulitis" and can lead to stenosis.
• The abscess is the evolution of a perforated diverticulitis eventually, it will most often require drainage.
• Fistula is drainage of the abscess through the communication of colon with an adjacent organs (bladder) or skin (cutaneous fistula).
• Peritonitis corresponds to the opening of the abscess in the abdominal cavity. It can be localized or generalized with fecal discharge of feces into the abdomen. The severity of these forms involves an appropriate intervention and urgent surgery.

Colitis bleeding

        Rare complication, is due to erosion of small vessels of the colon at the orifice through which created the diverticulum. Such bleeding often require emergency surgery.

Colitis complications pictures

Medical treatment

        There is a prescription of antibiotics often intravenously. The treatment is often decided in hospital for an update on infectious complications. A scanner is regularly proposed to locate an abscess and the extent of infection on the colon. Antibiotic treatment is quite long (between 15 days and 3 weeks) and it is associated with a fiber-free diet to reduce the amount of feces in the colon during the acute phase. A distance colonoscopy is desirable to verify the absence of polyp or colon tumor and measure the existence of any stenosis.

        The complications of this surgery are 2 kinds. Complications of laparoscopy are now fully controlled by technological environment that surrounds the surgical and anesthetic action. Risk of cardio-respiratory and embolism are exceptional because of the monitoring of the patient.
Complications of surgery include:

• The risk of mortality is about 0.5% for most patients.
• The main complication is represented by the risk of anastomotic fistula estimated at 3.5%. It corresponds to a partial disunity often very little of the anastomosis that can lead to an abscess or a peritonitis. Surgery revision may be necessary.
• An abscess wall is mostly encountered after surgery.
• A hernia is a complication which can reach 12% of cases and is favored by obesity and smoking.
• Stenosis of the anastomosis can be seen in 4% of cases and may require very rarely reoperation.

        The result of the surgery include an adjustment period with the possibility of colon diarrhea and pressing desire to go to the bathroom.