Observations on the epidemiology and colonoscopic features of chronic ulcerative colitis in Maltese patients

Abstract

A retrospective 2 year analysis of the endoscopic and histologic records of 34 Maltese patients with chronic ulcerative colitis is reported. The observed incidence of this condition in Malta is 1.9 per 100,000 per year. It is estimated that the present prevalence of the disease is 50 to 75 per 100,000 population. Colonoscopic findings were used to determine the extent and severity of chronic ulcerative colitis. Nine patients (26.5%) showed signs of proctosigmoiditis; seventeen patients (50.0%) had inflammation extending to the splenic flexure (left sided colitis) and eight patients (23.5%) had more extensive disease. These figures are compared to observations in published series from other population-based studies. Non-specific histopathological features such as mononuclear cell infiltration of the mucosa were reported in 88.5% of biopsies but more characteristic abnormalities, such as crypt abscesses and goblet cell mucin depletion were less commonly documented These findings confirm the usefulness of endoscopy in the diagnosis and assessment of the extent and severity of inflammatory bowel disease. The data also provide a basis for the development of future prospective studies, and the establishment of a centralised, multidisciplinary inflammatory bowel disease clinic in Malta.