Objective: To compare the clinical, endoscopic picture and morphological changes of the intestinal mucosa in patients with primary sclerosing cholangitis (PSC).
Materials and methods: 31 patients with PSC (women - 15 men - 16) were included in study group. The diagnosis of ulcerative colitis (UC) was established in 8 patients, Crohn’s disease (CD) - in 5, unclassified colitis (UCC) - in 7, and 11 patients had no clinical and endoscopic signs of IBD. The control group consisted of 30 patients with IBD: UC - 20 patients, CD - 10 persons. All the patients performed ileocolonoscopy (ICS) with multiple biopsy and histological examination of material.
Results: The prevalence of IBD in patients with PSC was 64.5%. IBD with PSC was characterized by extensive colitis with mild clinical activity. Morphological activity of IBD associated with PSC was usually moderate and severe. Morphological activity of disease in IBD/PSC group was lower than in UC alone (p < 0.05). IBD onset came before PSC symptoms (p < 0.05). Distal gradient of inflammation in colon predominated in IBD/PSC group when disease starts with IBD symptoms, in case of PSC symptoms - proximal gradient was more frequent. In IBD/PSC group affected ileum were detected in a third of cases, including CD ileitis - 60%, backwash ileitis in UC (NCC) in 26.7%, that was significantly frequently than in UC alone (p = 0.02). Within the IBD/PSC group 30% of patients with colitis were without damaging of rectum. In all the patients with PSC without clinical, endoscopic signs of colitis polymorphocellular infiltration of mucosa were founded. Eosinophilic infiltration of mucosa in group of PSC met significantly more frequently than in other study groups. Fibrosis of intestinal mucosa was founded significantly more frequently in group of PSC without IBD compared with UC/PSC and UC patients, but not with CD group.
Conclusions: For IBD in PSC extensive colitis without lesions of the rectum, backwash ileitis are common. There are some morphological differences in the intestinal lesions within the IBD/PSC patients depending on the type of disease onset. There is a dissociation between low clinical activity and intensive morphological inflammation. When PSC had no clinical features of IBD, a microscopic ileocolitis (characterized by eosinophilic infiltration and fibrosis of the intestinal mucosa) without nosological classification was founded in all patients.