Patients who have had a colectomy to treat ulcerative colitis have a 1 in 4 chance of recurrent Crohn’s disease in the ileostomy or ileo-anal pouch, according to a retrospective review of Lenox Hill Hospital’s inflammatory bowel disease database.

• The database revealed 128 patients with ulcerative colitis who underwent elective or urgent colectomy.
• After 20 years of follow-up on average, 25% of the group who had had an ileal pouch anal anastomosis (IPAA) or end ileostomy also had recurrent small bowel inflammation suggesting Crohn’s disease.
• Clinically significant disease recurrence occurred within 5 years of surgery on average.
• Based on these findings, researchers recommended an extended follow-up for patients who have had colectomy for ulcerative colitis.