title: Microscopic colitides: a single center experience in Mexico.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Microscopic colitis is characterized by chronic diarrhea and specific microscopic changes in a macroscopically normal colonic mucosa. In this paper, we report the clinical and histological features of a group of Mexican patients with microscopic colitis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Patients were identified from 10 years of data in the pathology database of our institution. A pathologist reassessed all biopsy material. We included only patients who met strict histopathological criteria. Clinical data were obtained from medical records.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Microscopic colitis was diagnosed in 26 cases. The female/male ratio was 1.8:1. The median age at diagnosis was 56.5 +/- 15.7 (range, 26-85) years. The most frequent symptoms were diarrhea in all, weight loss in 22 (84%), and abdominal pain in 18 (69%) patients. Sixteen (61%) patients reported associated diseases; autoimmune thyroid disorders were the most common. Drug-induced microscopic colitis was suspected in 12 (46%) patients. More than 80% of the treated patients improved or had clinical remission.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Microscopic colitis is an uncommon colonic disease at our institution, representing less than 1% of the final diagnoses in mucosal colonic biopsies. It is the largest case series of microscopic colitis in the Mexican population.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Instituto Nacional de Ciencias Médicas y Nutrición Salvador Zubirán (INNSZ), Vasco de Quiroga 15, Sección XVI. Tlalpan, 14000 Mexico City, Mexico. albertorubio.md@gmail.com
authors.forename: Alberto
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Rubio-Tapia
authors.forename: Julio
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Martínez-Salgado
authors.forename: Jorge
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: García-Leiva
authors.forename: Braulio
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Martínez-Benítez
authors.forename: Misael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Uribe
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002908:Chronic Disease; D046728:Colitis, Microscopic / Q000139:chemically induced / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007422:Intestines / Q000473:pathology; D008297:Male; D008800:Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D008875:Middle Aged