TY - CHAP M1 - Book, Section TI - Chapter 3. Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Medical Considerations A1 - Levine, Jonathan S. A1 - Burakoff, Robert A2 - Greenberger, Norton J. A2 - Blumberg, Richard S. A2 - Burakoff, Robert PY - 2012 T2 - CURRENT Diagnosis & Treatment: Gastroenterology, Hepatology, & Endoscopy, 2e AB - Crohn disease and ulcerative colitis are chronic inflammatory diseases with well-described epidemiologic and clinical features.Genetic factors, immune dysregulation, and microbial gut flora all influence disease susceptibility.No single symptom, physical finding, or test result can diagnose inflammatory bowel disease (IBD); the diagnosis is a clinical one based on consistent findings obtained from the history, physical examination, and laboratory, endoscopic, histologic, and radiologic studies.Multiple conditions can mimic IBD; infectious pathogens are a particular concern.Intestinal complications commonly occur in IBD, many of which are predictable on the basis of disease type, location, severity, or duration; extraintestinal complications also occur, typically in association with active disease.Patients with long-standing colitis are at increased risk of developing colorectal cancer (CRC) and should be evaluated for dysplastic changes predictive of subsequent or synchronous malignancy.5-Aminosalicylates, steroids, antibiotics, and immunomodulators have been mainstays of therapy; the choice of appropriate medication is based on multiple variables, including disease type, location, and severity.Biologic medications offer multiple powerful therapeutic options; the optimal time to apply these medications remains to be clarified. SN - PB - The McGraw-Hill Companies CY - New York, NY Y2 - 2024/03/28 UR - accessmedicine.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?aid=55955162 ER -