Introduction: The purpose of our study was to determine clinical, biological or endoscopic factors that could predict glucocorticosteroid treatment failure in acute colitis.
Patients and methods: Fifty-four Tunisian Caucasian patients with acute idiopathic colitis (ulcerative colitis in 53 patients, Crohn's colitis in 1 patient) have been evaluated. Non-therapeutic response was defined as over 6 bowel movements per day, blood visible to the naked eye in stools on the fifth day after admission or the development of a complication inducing a resort to surgery. Predictive factors were assessed using bivariate and multivariate analysis.
Results: Thirty-nine patients (72.2%) had no medical response. In univariate analysis, predictive factors of therapeutic failure were: male sex, tobacco, previous history of colitis attacks, bowel movements per day over seven at admission and on day three, and pulse rate over 90/mn, temperature over 38 degrees C, systolic blood pressure below 11 on day 3 and on day 5 after admission. In multivariate analysis, bowel movements over seven per day on day 3 of hospitalization and male sex independently predicted a failure of glucorticosteroid treatment.
Conclusion: Bowel movements per day over seven on day 3 of hospitalization and male sex were the independently predictive factors of failure of glucocorticosteroid treatment.