Prediction of flare-ups of ulcerative colitis using quantitative immunochemical fecal occult blood test.
OBJECTIVE
To examine the feasibility of predicting the flare-up of ulcerative colitis (UC) before symptoms emerge using the immunochemical fecal occult blood test (I-FOBT).


METHODS
We prospectively measured fecal hemoglobin concentrations in 78 UC patients using the I-FOBT every 1 or 2 mo.


RESULTS
During a 20 mo-period, 823 fecal samples from 78 patients were submitted. The median concentration of fecal hemoglobin was 41 ng/mL (range: 0-392 500 ng/mL). There were three types of patients with regard to the correlation between I-FOBT and patient symptoms; the synchronous transition type with symptoms (44 patients), the unrelated type with symptoms (19 patients), and the flare-up predictive type (15 patients). In patients with the flare-up predictive type, the values of I-FOBT were generally low during the study period with stable symptoms. Two to four weeks before the flare-up of symptoms, the I-FOBT values were high. Thus, in these patients, I-FOBT could predict the flare-up before symptoms emerged.


CONCLUSIONS
Flare-up could be predicted by I-FOBT in approximately 20% of UC patients. These results warrant periodical I-FOBT in UC patients.
Kuriyama
Motoaki
M
Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Okayama University Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry, and Pharmaceutical Sciences, 2-5-1, Shikata-cho, Kita-ku, Okayama 700-8558, Japan.
Kato
Jun
J
Takemoto
Koji
K
Hiraoka
Sakiko
S
Okada
Hiroyuki
H
Yamamoto
Kazuhide
K
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000097:blood / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis*; D005240:Feasibility Studies; D005260:Female; D006454:Hemoglobins / Q000378:metabolism*; D006801:Humans; D007150:Immunohistochemistry; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009780:Occult Blood; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012008:Recurrence; D013997:Time Factors; D055815:Young Adult
D006454:Hemoglobins