title: Colonic mucosal changes in patients with liver cirrhosis.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Portal colopathy has been reported in patients with cirrhosis of the liver. The aim of this study is to evaluate colonic mucosal changes and their clinical significance.
  
  
  METHODS
  Seventy-five cirrhotic patients with anemia and hemoccult-positive stool and 75 control subjects underwent endoscopic examinations of lower gastrointestinal tract.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Colonic ectasiae were found to be significantly more common in the 75 cirrhotic patients (80% with hepatitis B or C infection) than control subjects (84% vs 0, p < 0.0001). The lesions in 63 cirrhotic patients were found throughout the entire colon. They included colonic telangiectasiae or angiodysplastic-like lesions in 56 (89%) patients, red spots in 14 (22%), features suggesting mild chronic colitis in 8 (13%), and midrectal colorectal varices in 10 (16%). Pathologic findings in patients with telangiectasiae or angiodysplastic-like lesions showed dilation of vessels (7 of 9 patients) and edema of mucosa (6 of 9 patients). There was no correlation between the severity of cirrhosis, grade of esophageal varices, and the presence of colonic ectasiae.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our observations demonstrate that colonic mucosal changes commonly occur in cirrhotic patients with viral hepatitis. The risk of intermittent hemorrhage from colonic ectasiae should be considered in cirrhotic patients with anemia but without evidence of upper gastrointestinal bleeding. These characteristic lesions may represent a spectrum of portal in hypertensive intestinal vasculopathy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Veterans General Hospital-Taipei, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: T N
authors.initials: TN
authors.lastname: Tam
authors.forename: W W
authors.initials: WW
authors.lastname: NG
authors.forename: S D
authors.initials: SD
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D016022:Case-Control Studies; D003108:Colonic Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D005260:Female; D006509:Hepatitis B / Q000150:complications; D006526:Hepatitis C / Q000150:complications; D006801:Humans; D007413:Intestinal Mucosa / Q000473:pathology*; D008103:Liver Cirrhosis / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology* / Q000821:virology; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D015995:Prevalence; D011446:Prospective Studies; D014652:Vascular Diseases / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000473:pathology*