Background/aims: We examined the risk of non-calculus suppurative cholangitis in patients with inflammatory bowel disease in the entire Danish population.
Methodology: The study included all patients discharged from Danish hospitals with a diagnosis of Crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis as registered in the Danish National Registry of Patients from January 1, 1977 to December 31, 1992. We compared the observed number of patients hospitalized with suppurative cholangitis with expected numbers on the basis of age, gender, and calendar-specific incidence rates in the general population.
Results: Overall, 15,317 eligible patients with inflammatory bowel disease were discharged during the study period. Among these were 52 cases of non-calculus suppurative cholangitis. The incidence rate of non-calculus suppurative cholangitis in the cohort with inflammatory bowel disease was 46.1 per 100,000 person-years. The standardized incidence ratio (SIR) for suppurative cholangitis was increased similarly for patients with Crohn's disease [SIR=6.7, 95% confidence interval (CI): 3.1-12.7] and for patients with ulcerative colitis (SIR=6.6, 95% CI: 4.7-9.1). The highest relative risk was found in male patients younger than 40 years of age, for both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis (SIR=70.5 and 78.7, respectively).
Conclusions: Patients with inflammatory bowel disease have an increased risk of non-calculus suppurative cholangitis.