Nonspecific colitis a forgotten entity in Central Sudan

Background : Nonspecific colitis is an inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) that runs a clinically benign course. Histopathologically it is characterized by superficial mucosal erosions with lymphocytic infiltration in the lamina propria with no granuloma. Aim of this study: is to describe the clinical presentation of Non-Specific Colitis (NSC), and to evaluate its response to 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA) in Sudanese patients. Setting and Design : This study is a prospective cohort. A total of 26 patients presenting with bloody, mucoid diarrhoea, lower abdominal pain or colonic mass were included in the study. Methods and Materials : A total of 26 patients presenting with bloody mucoid diarrhoea, lower abdominal pain with or without colonic mass were included in the study. All patients underwent colonoscopy. Statistical analysis: A descriptive statistical analysis was done using SPSS. Results : 19 (%) of patients were males and 7 were females with male to female ratio of 3:1. The majority of patients 16 (61.6%) had bloody diarrhea while 18 (69.2%) opened their bowel 4-6 times a day. The majority 10 (38.8%) had rectum and sigmoid involvement. All patients showed a good response to 5-ASA. Conclusions : This study showed that NSC has clinical features that are very much similar to mild UC with a rather good clinical response to oral 5-ASA. Keywords : Nonspecific colitis, indeterminate colitis, 5-aminosaclyic acid.