The Patient with Newly Diagnosed Ulcerative Colitis - Page 2

Publication of THE LATEST IN ULCERATIVE COLITIS CARE supplement was made possible by an unrestricted educational grant from Aptalis Pharma

¹James Gregor, MD,²Co-authors: John Howard, MD, Nitin Khanna, MD, and Nilesh Chande, MD,

Authors' Affiliations

¹Division of Gastroenterology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON.

²are members of the Division of Gastroenterology, London Health Sciences Centre, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON.

CLINICAL TOOLS

Abstract: Informed patients are one of the most important assets available in the management of patients with ulcerative colitis. Clinical experience reinforces that most patients have similar questions upon diagnosis. Anticipating these questions and tailoring them to a particular patient's disease severity and extent should not only streamline follow-up but also mitigate confusion and augment the benefit of the plethora of information available in the 21st century. Using our local experience, we have defined the 10 most common questions asked by patients and modified the answers, where necessary, to improve their specificity to patients with ulcerative proctitis, left-sided ulcerative colitis, and pancolitis.

Key Words: ulcerative colitis, patient, questions, classification, management.

Patients can be relatively ill informed regarding the nature of their UC, its management, and its ultimate prognosis.

Generally, disease extent is divided into three categories: ulcerative proctitis, left-sided disease, and pancolitis.

A simple approach with frequently asked questions (FAQs) is a highly desirable and efficient means of transmitting information.

Clinical experience reinforces that most patients have similar questions upon diagnosis with UC.

Anticipating these questions and tailoring them to a particular patient's disease severity and extent should streamline follow-up and also mitigate confusion.

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