LUNG-FUNCTION IN PATIENTS WITH INFLAMMATORY BOWEL-DISEASE

Previous studies on baseline pulmonary function testing (PFT) abnormal ities in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are conflictin g because most of them have incorporated patients suffering from both ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD). The aim of the study is to investigate whether any PFT abnormalities could be detected in a large group of IBD patients and whether there are differences betwee n the two IBD entities. A total of 132 patients, 47 with CD (mean age 35 years) and 85 with UC (mean age 40 years) were studied. Pulmonary f unction tests (PFTs), lung transfer factor for carbon monoxide (TLCO) were examined and compared with those of 36 healthy controls. No signi ficant difference of mean values of spirometric indices, TLCO and ABG was found between the two groups of patients and controls, or between patients with CD and UC. However, nine (19%) patients with CD and 15 ( 17.6%) with UC had a reduction in TLCO, a percentage significantly hig her than in controls (P<0.05). The majority of the patients with TLCO reduction were in an active phase of disease (P<0.05). Our results sug gest that there is no difference in routine PFTs between UC and CD pat ients, as well as between both these groups and normal controls. Howev er, TLCO abnormalities related to the degree of disease activity are f ound in patients with both UC and CD.