History

Background: Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that affects the mucosa and submucosa of the colon, affecting part or all of the colon and causing symptoms such as defecation urgency, tenesmus, bloody diarrhoea, abdominal discomfort, & exhaustion. Endoscopic findings in patients with UC include edematous mucosa, erythema, loss of vascular lines, friability, erosions, ulcers, and spontaneous bleeding, depending on the severity of the disease. Chronic inflammation can cause Luminal Narrowing and Pseudo Polyps. Objective: To assess the symptoms, extent, and severity of ulcerative colitis in patients in the province of AL-Anbar in western Iraq. Patient and Methods: A "retrospective cross-sectional" study comprised 68 new UC cases identified in the Gastroenterology Clinic of "AL-Ramadi teaching hospital" between 1/2019 & 10/2021, of which 39 males (57.4%) and 29 females were included. Each UC patient had their clinical characteristics and endoscopic findings recorded. Colonoscopy and biopsies were performed in each of the instances. Results: The mean age of patients was 35.07, 32 [47.1%] patients presented with Bloody diarrhoea with male predominance & 20 [29.4%]bleeding per rectum, & 16 [23.5%] with diarrhoea. The most common associated symptoms were abdominal pain in 44 [64.7%], followed by Tenesmus in 15 [22.1%] & mucus discharge in 9[13.2%]. Regarding the extension of disease, E1 was found in 23 patients (33.8) with the male majority 14[60.9%],E2 in 31 patients (45.6%) and E3 in 14[20.6%] with male predominance 10[71.4%]. E1 and E2 extensions were more common in 79.4% of patients. Regarding the severity of disease, score1 was found in 7 patients [10.3%], score 2 in 24 patients [35.3%], % score 3 in 37 patients [ 54.4%] with a male predominance in 23[62.2%] of patients. Pseudo polyps were detected in 2 patients (2.9%). Our research found no additional colitis consequences, such as stricture or cancer. Conclusion: Our study shows that bloody diarrhoea & abdominal pain are the most prevalent symptoms that present themselves & E2 and S3 are the most common endoscopic finding in ulcerative colitis