Abstract
Morbidity and mortality are not negligible when emergency surgical procedure is performed on patients with U.C. who are suffering a severe attack. Many attempts have been made to cure such patients. Among them, intraarterial administration of Prednisolone through selective catheterization of the mesenteric vessels has produced favorable responses.
In the present paper, the value of such treatment is evaluated through three cases which we have experienced. One of these cases showed a dramatic improvement after two administrations. The first patient was relieved of abdominal pain immediately after the first treatment, and no bloody stool was observed longer than 24 hours after the first injection. The second patient was discharged without surgical procedure one month after an effective single shot. The third patient was diagnosed as toxic megacolon, and colon gas was decreased by the first injection. However, two subsequent injections were ineffective, and ileostomy was required.
In conclusion, the intraarterial injection of steroid for severe attack of U.C. is considered to be valuable in that the clinical signs and symptoms are dramatically improved and that even in the case of moribund condition, a scheduled operation can be expected after several trial injections.
