title: Colitis after polytrauma: case report.
abstract: Across the medical literature, delayed diagnosis and treatment leads to more costly and worse outcomes. Rehabilitation patients, especially those with polytrauma, often have a complex mixture of medical, social, and psychological health problems that can impair effective diagnosis and treatment. The case presentation describes the procession toward the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis in a preinjury asymptomatic male, suggesting a potential mechanism for its emergence and describing the effect of delayed diagnosis on the efficiency of rehabilitative care. As such, the differential diagnosis for early posttraumatic diarrhea should remain broad, particularly if unexplained or ineffectively controlled.
authors.affiliation: Department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Virginia Commonwealth University, PO Box 980661, Richmond, VA 23298. willecarter@gmail.com.
authors.forename: William E
authors.initials: WE
authors.lastname: Carter
authors.forename: Isaac A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Darko
authors.forename: Priya
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Chandan
authors.forename: Ajit B
authors.initials: AB
authors.lastname: Pai
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000150:complications* / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000628:therapy; D057210:Delayed Diagnosis; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D003967:Diarrhea / Q000209:etiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008889:Military Personnel; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000150:complications*; D014481:United States
keywords: Active Duty; Department 
  of Veterans Affairs; amputation; comorbidity; gastroenterology; polytrauma; rehabilitation; traumatic brain injury; ulcerative colitis; veteran