Profile of non-neoplastic colorectal lesions - A five year study

Background: Colorectal diseases are frequently encountered in clinical practice. They range from minor problems causing minimal discomfort to potentially serious diseases causing much morbidity and mortality. Clinically most of these disorders present with non-specific symptoms like altered bowel habits, diarrhea, bleeding per rectum either melaena or fresh hemorrhage; thus causing much delay in drawing attention. Early detection and proper management are essential to reduce the morbidity and mortality. Various diagnostic tools are developed in the recent past, improving the detection and assessment of these lesions. Objectives: To study the profile of various non-neoplastic colorectal lesions and to know the relative frequency of various diseases, and to know the age and sex incidence of the non-neoplastic colorectal lesions. Materials and methods: This study was carried out in the Department of Pathology, NRI Medical College, Chinakakani, Guntur district. The present study comprised a total of 507 cases of colorectal lesions which were received in the department of pathology as colonoscopic biopsies and resected specimens. Out of 507 cases, 187 cases were neoplastic and 320 cases belonged to the non-neoplastic group. The present study was done on the non-neoplastic colorectal lesions over a study period of 5 years, i.e. from June 2008 to May 2013. Results: The present study comprised a total of 507 cases of colorectal lesions over a study period of 5 years, i.e. from June 2008 to May 2013; which included 405 (79.88%) cases of colonoscopic biopsies and 102 (20.12%) cases of resected specimens. Out of the total 507 colorectal lesions, there were 320 (63.12%) cases of non-neoplastic lesions and 187 (36.88%) cases of neoplastic lesions. Out of 320 cases of Non-neoplastic lesions, 211 (65.94%) cases were Males and 109 (34.06%) cases were females; the predominant lesion was chronic non-specific colitis constituting 187 (58.44%) of cases and next to it is the Inflammatory bowel disease which included ulcerative colitis constituting 40 (12.50%) of cases and 10 (3.12%) cases of Crohn’s disease. Conclusion: Colorectal lesions are one of the common causes of morbidity. In routine clinical practice, histology is often considered as the gold standard when compared with other tests. Biopsy provides an excellent opportunity for the clinician and histopathologist to correlate, colonoscopic findings and pathological features.