| [ Summary ] |
The degree of severity of ulcerative colitis is defined by Truelove's criteria, composed of 6 criterias: frequency of bowel movements, bloody stools, tachycardia, red blood cell sedimentation rate, fever, and anemia. Factors involved in severity of ulcerative colitis were discussed from the viewpoint of the extent of diseased segments, such as the entire colitis, mucosal infiltration of neutrophils, memory T lymphocytes, disease chronicity, LPS produced by enteric germs, autoantibodies such as ANCA, basal infiltration of plasma cells, proinflammatory cytokines and their balance, disease susceptibility genes, such as HLA, and intestinal or extraintestinal complications, such as toxic megacolon and venous thrombosis. |