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Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract pp 366–373Cite as

Infectious Colitis

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Part of the book series: Encyclopedia of Pathology ((EP))

Synonyms

Acute infectious colitis (AIC); Acute infectious-type colitis (AITC); Acute self-limited colitis (ASLC); Dysentery

Definition

Infectious colitis corresponds to the inflammation of the colon caused by an infectious agent including bacteria, viruses, protozoa, fungus, or parasites.

Epidemiology

In western countries, infectious colitis is most commonly due to bacterial and viral pathogens but it may also be caused by protozoa, fungus, and parasites. The last three pathogens are mostly observed in immune-compromised patients or travellers coming from developing countries. Infection caused by bacteria or viruses usually resolves within a few weeks without residual histologic findings.

Many enteric infections are transmitted to humans through contaminated food and water. Populations in less developed countries often live in ramshackle housing without sanitary environment, which facilitates greatly the occurrence of colonic infections. In industrialized countries, other and different...

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References and Further Reading

  • Bok, K., et al. (2012). Norovirus gastroenteritis in immunocompromised patients. The New England Journal of Medicine, 367, 2126–2132.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Jouret-Mourin, A., & Geboes, K. (2002). Infectious colitis. Acta Endoscopica, 32, 167–184.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Kumar, N. B., et al. (1982). The histopathologic spectrum of acute self-limited colitis (acute infectious-type colitis). The American Journal of Surgical Pathology, 6, 523–529.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Lamps L. W. (2009). In LW Lamps (Ed.), Surgical pathology of the gastrointestinal system: Bacterial, fungal, viral and parasitic infections. New York: Springer.

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  • Schumacher, G., et al. (1994). A prospective study of first attacks of IBD and infectious colitis. Scandinavian Journal of Gastroenterology, 29, 318–332.

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  • Surawicz, C. M., et al. (1984). Mucosal biopsy diagnosis of colitis; acute self-limited colitis and idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology, 107, 755–763.

    Article  Google Scholar 

  • Udayakumar, N., et al. (2011). Infectious colitis. Current Opinion in Gastroenterology, 27, 66–71.

    Article  Google Scholar 

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Pathology, Cliniques Universitaires St. Luc, UCL, Avenue Hippocrate 10, 1200, Brussels, Belgium

    Anne Jouret-Mourin

Authors
  1. Anne Jouret-Mourin
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Corresponding author

Correspondence to Anne Jouret-Mourin .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medicine of Porto University, Centro Hospitalar São João and Ipatimup/i3S, Porto, Portugal

    Fátima Carneiro

  2. Serviço de Anatomia Patológica, Instituto Português de Oncologia de Lisboa de Francisco Gentil, Lisbon, Portugal

    Paula Chaves

  3. Faculdade de Ciências da Saúde, Universidade da Beira Interior, Covilhã, Portugal

    Paula Chaves

  4. Department of Pathology, Ankara University Medical School, Sihhiye, Ankara, Turkey

    Arzu Ensari

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Cite this entry

Jouret-Mourin, A. (2017). Infectious Colitis. In: Carneiro, F., Chaves, P., Ensari, A. (eds) Pathology of the Gastrointestinal Tract. Encyclopedia of Pathology. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40560-5_1440

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-40560-5_1440

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-319-40559-9

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-319-40560-5

  • eBook Packages: MedicineReference Module Medicine

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