title: [What is the value of clinical symptoms in the diagnosis of nonspecific inflammatory bowel disease?].
abstract: Due to controversial evaluation of the contribution of clinical signs for the diagnosing of non-specific inflammatory bowel disease, as well as due to the lack of similar data, we tried to find our own answer to the question as to whether the clinical signs of ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (MC) are helpful, unhelpful, or even confusing for the diagnosis. A group of patients with MC and UC was analyzed from this aspect. Individuals in their twenties and thirties prevailed in the sample, mostly intellectual workers, the number of males and females was equal. Our attempt to analyze all the available diagnostic methods originated in an observation that a long period of health problems precedes the diagnosis of MC, namely 1.5 y in males and as long as 4 y in females. Other striking information was that surgery represented the initial treatment in 66% of cases and the correct diagnosis was made peroperatively only in 56% of cases. We compared our results with those of the OMGE study, one of the largest projects which evaluated positively the contribution of clinical signs to the diagnosing of MC and UC. We found that the main signs of CU have not changed in the last century, and some additional signs occur rather due to complications than due to the disease per se. Frequency of pain increased by 25% in our patients, and approximately 1/3 of it represented intermittent pain caused by tenesms. Pain in MC must be properly analyzed in order to discriminate acute appendicitis. Other indicators did not differ from the OMGE study. In accordance with its results, we confirmed the importance of correct evaluation of clinical signs for the diagnosis and differential diagnosis of UC and MC. The number of diagnostic methods still increases. Their validity must be continuously re-evaluated, however the clinical examination in the dynamic process stays to be of crucial value.
authors.affiliation: Výskumný ústav výzivy v Bratislave, Slovakia.
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Príkazská
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Pechan
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000175:diagnosis*; D003424:Crohn Disease / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male
vernacular_title: Aká je hodnota klinických príznakov pre diagnostiku nespecifických crevných zápalov?