Inflammatory Bowel Disease: Diagnosis and Therapeutics

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) refers to group of disorders that cause chronic inflammation in the intestines. There are two main types of IBD, namely, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis. Crohn's disease causes swelling and pain in the digestive tract. Ulcerative colitis is a condition that affects the large intestine and causes ulcers and swelling in colon and rectum. A person may experience common symptoms like diarrhea, weight loss, rectal bleeding and abdominal pain in inflammatory bowel diseases. The diagnosis of IBD primarily involves complete blood count (CBC) and stool test to detect the signs of inflammation in the intestine. Some other diagnostic methods which are used for its diagnosis are flexible sigmoidoscopy, upper endoscopy, capsule endoscopy, imaging scans and colonoscopy. IBD treatments include medications such as antibiotics, biologics, aminosalicylates, corticosteroids, and immunomodulators. This book outlines the diagnosis and therapeutics of inflammatory bowel disease in detail. It consists of contributions made by international experts. This book will prove to be immensely beneficial to students and researchers involved in the study and treatment of this disease.