1983 Volume 25 Issue 12 Pages 1913-1919
By means of a hydrogen gas clearance method using contact electrode, rectal mucosal blood flow was determined at different stages of ulcerative colitis (13 cases, 34 times) and normal controls (17 cases) with good reproducibility. In active stage of ulcerative colitis, with no referance to steroid treatment, rectal mucosal blood flow was significantly (p<0.001) increased (68.0±19.6 ml/min/100 g ; mean±S. D. ; n=19) compared with remission stage (43.1±11.9 ; n=15) and control group (43.6±8.3 ; n=17 ), and the blood flow correlated well with the clinical disease activity. In proctitis type ulcerative colitis, there is little difference in the blood flow between active and remission stage, and the blood flow is normal or reduced. In seven patients, blood flow was measured at two to six different times over the period of 4 to 18 months, and blood flow reflected the clinical state such as stool frequency well. Measurement of rectal mucosal blood flow appears to be a good method for assesing the severity and studying the pathophysiology of ulcerative colitis.
