title: Ischemic colitis: A forgotten entity. Results of a retrospective study in 118 patients.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  The aim of our study was to document our 6-year experiences in identifying the clinical characteristics, laboratory findings, risk factors and the outcomes of patients with ischemic colitis (IC) in a community hospital setting.
  
  
  METHODS
  The medical records of patients who were diagnosed with IC from 2007 to 2013 in two community hospitals were retrospectively reviewed. Their clinical characteristics, laboratory results, radiological, endoscopic and histological evidence, anatomic location of the lesion, comorbidities, concomitant use of drugs, and so on, were collected.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 118 patients with IC was identified, most were elderly individuals with a female predominance. The most common symptoms were abdominal pain, rectal bleeding and diarrhea. Hypertension, hyperlipidemia, coronary artery disease and diabetes mellitus were the most common comorbidities. Erythema, edema and erosions/ulcerations were the most common endoscopic findings. Left colon was the most affected location of lesion (84.8%), and there was one case of pancolitis. The descending colon was the most common affected segment, while rectum was the least affected segment. Severe IC occurred in 12.7% of the patients. Death within 30 days from the diagnosis of the disease occurred in 4.2%.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  IC is majorly occurred in elderly with a female predominance. Cardiovascular disease and its associated risk factors are the most common comorbidities. Left colon is the most affected location of the disease and the overall mortality rate was 4.2%. Physicians should make every effort to identify these patients, especially those with high risks.
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Division of Gastroenterology, CGH Medical Center, Sterling, Illinois, USA.
authors.forename: Muhammed
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Sherid
authors.forename: Humberto
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Sifuentes
authors.forename: Salih
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Samo
authors.forename: Samian
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sulaiman
authors.forename: Husein
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Husein
authors.forename: Ruth
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Tupper
authors.forename: Sankara N
authors.initials: SN
authors.lastname: Sethuraman
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Spurr
authors.forename: John A
authors.initials: JA
authors.lastname: Vainder
authors.forename: Subbaramiah
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Sridhar
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D017091:Colitis, Ischemic / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D003106:Colon / Q000503:physiopathology; D003113:Colonoscopy; D015897:Comorbidity; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012008:Recurrence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D014057:Tomography, X-Ray Computed
keywords: colitis; colonoscopy; computed tomography; histology; ischemic colitis