II. A Case of Ischaemic Colitis Examined by Colonoscope

Abstract

Ischaemic colitis is a well recognized entity which results from sudden occulusion of a main trunk or a branch of a mesentric artery or from hypoxia with non-occulusive mesenteric arterial disease. Although ischaemic colitis is not rare in the older age groups with episodes of ischaemia involving the heart or brain, its endoscopic findings are rarely reported.
A 54 year old male complaining of dull left hypochondrial pain, was examined using a colonoscope. Endoscopic appearances such as longitudinal ulcers without cobble-stone appearance, stricture of the canal of splenic flexure, diffuse capillary dilatation and congestion etc. were different from other specific or non-specific inflammatory bowel diseases.
Endoscopic diagnosis of ischaemic colitis is not so easy, because its endoscopic findings are not uniform according to its stage or severity. Therefore, more description of the cases in each stage and severity will be necessary to make more effective differential diagnosis of ischaemic colitis.