Histomorphological study of colonoscopic biopsies in patients presenting with chronic diarrhea

Abstract

: Colonoscopic biopsy is an important tool in the diagnosis of large bowel diseases affected by a wide range of conditions both non neoplastic and neoplastic which can present with chronic diarrhea. The causes for chronic diarrhoea vary depending on socio-economic factors, hygienic practices. Studies exploring the causes of chronic diarrhea in developing countries are few, with no generalized uniformity. With this background information the present study is planned to know various causes of chronic diarrhea by histopathological study. To assess the histopathological findings among colonoscopic biopsies in patients undergoing work up for chronic diarrhea and to deternine the sex and age incidence in major causes: A total of 100 colonoscopic biopsies from the patients suffering from chronic diarrhea were obtained from the Department of Medical Gastroenterology and received in the Department of Pathology, VIMS & RC Bangalore from January 2014 to January 2015 were studied.: In the present study 100 colonoscopic biopsies were studied with a mean age of 45 years and male to female ratio of 3.3:1. Out of 100 cases, 92 cases were non-neoplastic lesions, 3 cases were benign and 5 cases were malignant lesions. Among 92 cases, majority of them were inflammatory lesions accounting to 85 cases (92.4%), 4 (4.3%) cases were polypoid lesions. The inflammatory bowel disease were more commonly seen in 31-40 years with the male preponderance.: Colonoscopy biopsy is a useful investigation to be carried out in patients with chronic diarrhea for proper diagnosis and treatment. It has a role in diagnosis, follow up and treatment, especially in cases of inflammatory bowel disease and malignancies. It is the gold standard for cancer surveillance.