Crohn's disease and Ulcerative colitis

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is a term primarily used to describe two chronic inflammatory conditions of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract:

1. Crohn's disease

2. Ulcerative colitis

Both conditions involve inflammation of the digestive tract, but they affect different areas and have distinct characteristics.

Crohn's Disease	Feature	Ulcerative Colitis
Can occur anywhere along the gastrointestinal (GI) tract, from mouth to anus, but most commonly in the ileum and colon.	Location of Inflammation	Confined to the colon and rectum.
Transmural (affects all layers of the bowel wall).	Depth of Inflammation	Mucosal and submucosal layers only (superficial).
Discontinuous ("skip lesions" or patchy areas of inflammation).	Pattern of Involvement	Continuous inflammation, starting from the rectum and extending proximally.
Abdominal pain, diarrhea (may be bloody), weight loss, fever, fatigue.	Symptoms	Bloody diarrhea, urgency, tenesmus, abdominal pain.
Common, especially perianal fistulas.	Fistulas	Rare
Present in about 25-50% of cases (non-caseating granulomas)	Granulomas	Rarely present.
Common, leading to bowel obstruction.	Strictures	Rare
Present	Fibrosis	Rare
Present	Anti flagellin Ab	Absent
Rare	Pseudo polyp	Present
Rare	Toxic megacolon	Present
Presence of ASCA	Antibodies	Presence of p-ANCA
• Cobblestone appearance • Deep ulcers • Strictures	Endoscopic Findings	• Continuous inflammation (Pipe stem colon) • Pseudopolyps • Loss of haustral folds
High	Recurrence after surgery	No

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