title: [Colonoscopic evaluation in patients with ankylosing spondylitis].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with ankylosing spondylitis can have intestinal inflammatory lesions, thus the use of colonoscopy for such patients should be defined.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To assess the gross intestinal colonoscopic changes and microscopic histopathologic findings of patients with ankylosing spondylitis; to correlate the colonoscopic and histopathologic findings; and to study the relationship of the histopathologic findings with extra-articular manifestations of the disease, HLA-B27, BASFI and BASDAI.
  
  
  METHODS
  This is a cross-sectional study of 22 patients with ankylosing spondylitis. The patients underwent clinical assessment, BASDAI and BASFI application, blood collection for HLA-B27 measurement, and colonoscopy with biopsy of four intestinal segments (terminal ileum, right and sigmoid colons, and rectum).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Abnormal colonoscopic results were obtained in 13 (59.1%) patients, the major abnormality being intestinal polyps. The groups of normal and abnormal colonoscopic results (n=9 and n=13, respectively) were homogeneous regarding age, BASFI, BASDAI, and categorical variables, and the P-value showed no significant difference between groups. The histopathological findings revealed abnormal biopsies in 81%, 90.9%, 90.9% and 86.4% for terminal ileum, right colon, sigmoid colon, and rectum, respectively. The histopathologic results showed no statistically significant association with the extra-articular manifestations, BASFI, BASDAI and HLA-B27 positivity.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The histological analysis of the four intestinal segments evidenced inflammatory lesions in patients with normal and abnormal colonoscopic results, independently of bowel symptomatology and therapy used in the treatment of the basal disease.
authors: Programa de Pós-Graduação em Clínica Médica, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil. Electronic address: haim.maleh@gmail.com.
authors: Haim Cesar
authors: HC
authors: Maleh
authors: Serviço de Reumatologia, Hospital Universitário Clementino Fraga Filho, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors: Blanca Elena Rios Gomes
authors: BE
authors: Bica
authors: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors: José Ângelo de Souza
authors: JÂ
authors: Papi
authors: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors: Mário Newton Leitão
authors: MN
authors: de Azevedo
authors: Departamento de Clínica Médica, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro, Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brasil.
authors: Antônio José de Vasconcellos
authors: AJ
authors: Carneiro
mesh_terms: D003106:Colon / Q000473:pathology*; D003113:Colonoscopy; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D007082:Ileum / Q000473:pathology*; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000209:etiology* / Q000473:pathology*; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D012007:Rectum / Q000473:pathology*; D013167:Spondylitis, Ankylosing / Q000150:complications*
keywords: Alteração intestinal; Ankylosing spondylitis; Análise histológica; Colonoscopia; Colonoscopy; Doença inflamatória intestinal; Espondilite anquilosante; Histological analisys; Intestinal alteration; Intestinal inflammatory disease