is a colonoscopy dangerous when having a flare up of ulcerative colitis?
is a colonoscopy dangerous when having a flare up of ulcerative colitis?
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You understand and agree that use of the Website does not in any way create or establish a physician-patient privilege or physician-patient relationship between you and any Medical Professional Member. You should recognize that the information provided on the Website (including past questions and answers and articles posted on the site) is provided for your general information. These materials should not be relied on as medical advice and reading and reviewing them is not a substitute for direct consultation with a medical professional about a specific medical problem.
Without limiting the foregoing, you understand and agree that submitting a Free Question or receiving an answer to a Free Question does not in any way create or establish an physician-patient relationship between you and any Medical Professional Member, or between you and us. The information and answers provided in response to Free Questions is intended to be generic medical information, not medical advice, and is based upon the very limited information provided by you in a Free Question. Specific medical advice can only be given with full knowledge of all of the facts and circumstances of your situation. If you are currently being treated by a doctor, that doctor is the best person to give you advice about a medical case or medical matter. Under no circumstances should the information obtained on this site be used to make decisions about the quality of service provided by a doctor or about the proper course of a medical matter.
Colonoscopy always has a risk of causing bleeding or perforation associated with it.? This risk is increased significantly during a flare of UC.? That being said, many times to diagnose a flare you will need a colonoscopy to diagnose it, and will have to weight those risks and benefits with your gastroenterologist.
This depends on the severity of the flare-up. Colonoscopy is not typically dangerous during a mild to moderate flare-up of ulcerative colitis. It may even be performed during a severe flare-up, but the endoscopist should be careful in not advancing the colonoscope if the inflammation is severe and therefore compromising the lumen of the colon or if the patient appears very sick (distended and tender abdomen, fever, etc). Remember, ulcerative colitis is often diagnosed by a colonoscopy, and this may be during a severe flare-up. In a patient with an established diagnosis of ulcerative colitis, a colonsocopy is usually not necessary during an acute flare-up for treatment unless the symptoms are refractory to medical therapy and biopsies are required to rule out an infectious source or dysplasia/cancer.