Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of inflammatory conditions of the colon and small intestine, Crohns disease and ulcerative colitis being the principal types. Crohns disease affects the small intestine and large intestine, as well as the mouth, esophagus, stomach and the anus, whereas ulcerative colitis primarily affects the colon and the rectum.IBD also occurs in dogs and is thought to arise from a combination of host genetics, intestinal microenvironment, environmental components and the immune system. There is an ongoing discussion, however, that the term "chronic enteropathy" might be better to use than "inflammatory bowel disease" in dogs because it differs from IBD in humans in how the dogs respond to treatment. For example, many dogs respond to only dietary changes compared to humans with IBD, who often need immunosuppressive treatment. Some dogs may also need immunosuppressant or antibiotic treatment when dietary changes are not enough. After having excluded other diseases that can lead to vomiting, diarrhea, and abdominal pain in dogs, intestinal biopsies are often performed to investigate what kind of inflammation is occurring (lymphoplasmacytic, eosinophilic, or granulomatous). In dogs, low levels of cobalamin in the blood have been shown to be a risk factor for negative outcome. Signs and symptoms
In spite of Crohns and UC being very different diseases, both may present with any of the following symptoms: abdominal pain, diarrhea, rectal bleeding, severe internal cramps/muscle spasms in the region of the pelvis and weight loss. Anemia is the most prevalent extraintestinal complication of inflammatory bowel disease.
Pouchitis is an umbrella term for inflammation of the ileal pouch, an artificial rectum surgically created out of ileum (the last section of the small intestine) in patients who have undergone a proctocolectomy or total colectomy (removal of the colon and rectum). The ileal pouch-anal anastomosis is created in the management of patients with ulcerative colitis, indeterminate colitis, familial adenomatous polyposis, cancer, or rarely, other colitides.A variety of mechanisms can be the cause of pouchitis including inflammatory factors such as a disbiosis sparked inflammation or Crohns disease of the pouch, surgical causes including surgical join leaks and pelvic sepsis, or infectious from Clostridium difficile (C Diff) or Cytomegalovirus (CMV). It is possible to have more than one factor causing pouch inflammation at the same time.The incidence of a first episode of pouchitis at 1, 5 and 10 years post-operatively is 15%, 33% and 45% respectively.Patients with pouchitis typically present with bloody diarrhea, urgency in passing stools, or discomfort while passing stools. The loss of blood and/or dehydration resulting from the frequent stools will frequently result in nausea. Extreme cramping and pain can occur with pouchitis. Endoscopic evaluation of the pouch (pouchoscopy) in patients with pouchitis usually reveals erythematous pouch mucosa, loss of pseudocolonic vasculature or other architecture, and friability of the mucosa. Biopsies show evidence of inflammatory cells or red blood cells in the lamina propria.