Inflammatory Bowel Disease Treated by Experts at Mercy in Baltimore

Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis are the two most common types of inflammatory bowel disease. The inflammation in Crohn’s disease can be located in patches throughout the digestive tract, whereas in ulcerative colitis, the inflammation is located in one continuous portion of the large intestine. Other types of inflammatory bowel disease can include collagenous colitis and lymphocytic colitis.

The various types of inflammatory bowel disease often have similar symptoms, which include:

• Abdominal pain
• Cramping
• Severe diarrhea
• Blood in stool
• Ulcers
• Reduced appetite
• Weight loss

To diagnose inflammatory bowel disease, various tests may be conducted, including:

• Blood tests
• Colonoscopy
• Small bowel imaging
• CT scan
• MRI
• Capsule endoscopy
• Double balloon endoscopy
• Chromoendoscopy

Inflammatory bowel disease is first treated with drug therapy such as infliximab, also known as Remicade, biologic agents, immunomodulators, antibiotics, steroids, or mesalamine products. If medications are not successful, surgery may be needed to remove the bowel obstructions to relieve the symptoms of inflammatory bowel disease.