Severe Ulcerative Colitis: A Case Study

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Sephton (2009) discusses an overview of severe ulcerative colitis, along with assessments, medical management, and nursing care. Ulcerative colitis is an inflammation in the mucosal layer of the colon. Ulcerative colitis has characteristics of watery diarrhea with blood, mucus, or pus. Treatment usually depends on the extent and severity of the disease. Mild to moderate ulcerative colitis is treated with 5-aminosalicylic acid. Corticosteroids can be used for patients who relapse or do not respond well to the 5-aminosalicylic acid treatment. Azathioprine or 6-mercaptopurine are immunosuppressive drugs that are used when the disease becomes steroid dependent. For patients with severe ulcerative colitis, intravenous corticosteroids during a hospital stay are used. …show more content…

Typical symptoms of a flare-up include abdominal pain and diarrhea containing blood. A full blood count, liver function tests and a series of three stool cultures should be taken for diagnosis. Patients with severe ulcerative colitis can have low hemoglobin levels and a raised platelet count. Stool cultures should also be tested for Clostridium difficile toxin. Studies have shown that many with a flare-up will have complications from the Clostridium difficile toxin. A flexible-sigmoidoscopy should be performed to assess colonic mucosa and biopsies taken to rule out infection and diagnose ulcerative

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