Current Status of the Treatment of Fulminant Colitis

Cir Esp. 2015 May;93(5):276-82. doi: 10.1016/j.ciresp.2014.09.016. Epub 2015 Jan 31.
[Article in English, Spanish]

Abstract

Fulminant colitis is not a well-defined entity, that constitutes a severe complication. It usually occurs in the course of úlcerative colitis and Clostridium difficile colitis. A multidisciplinary management combining gastroenterologist and surgeons is crucial with intensive medical treatment and early surgery in non-responders. It is important to distinguish if we are facing a flare of IBD or, on the contrary, it is an infectious colitis, due to the fact that although general therapeutic measures to adopt will be the same, they will demand opposed specific measures.

Keywords: Clostridium; Colectomy; Colectomía; Colitis fulminante; Colitis ulcerosa; Fulminant colitis; Ulcerative colitis.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Clostridium Infections
  • Colitis* / diagnosis
  • Colitis* / etiology
  • Colitis* / therapy
  • Colitis, Ulcerative / complications
  • Decision Trees
  • Humans
  • Severity of Illness Index