Question

Title: Ulcerative Colitis Scenario: A 32-year-old female is admitted to the emergency department for abdominal pain that has worsened over the past 2 days. She states that she has a history of ulcerat

Answer 1

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon and rectum. It primarily presents with lower abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. While it increases the risk of colon cancer, it mainly affects the quality of life and not the lifespan.

Step-by-step explanation:

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease that causes inflammation and ulcers in the colon and rectum. Unlike Crohn's disease, other parts of the GI tract are rarely affected in ulcerative colitis. The primary symptoms of the disease are lower abdominal pain and bloody diarrhea. Weight loss, fever, and anemia may also be present. Symptoms typically occur intermittently with periods of no symptoms between flare-ups. People with ulcerative colitis have a considerably increased risk of colon cancer and should be screened for colon cancer more frequently than the general population. However, ulcerative colitis seems to reduce primarily the quality of life and not the lifespan.