Bowel disease is a collection of disorders that includes Crohn’s disease and ulcerative colitis, which causes pain and swelling in the intestines, affecting the digestive system. The first step in treating bowel disease involves a doctor taking a careful medical history and physical examination. Numerous diagnostic tests are conducted on the patient, such as blood tests, stool samples, endoscopy, colonoscopy, and imaging studies. During blood tests, providers test patients’ blood and evaluate how well a treatment works (Fiorino et al., 2019). Blood tests include measuring hematocrit, C-reaction protein, thrombocytes, and leucocytes. A stool sample is checked for infections or inflammation, while CT and MRI scans reveal internal images of the digestive system. Health providers also perform an upper endoscopy that involves looking inside the food pipe, stomach, and ileum and collecting biopsies for examination. A colonoscopy helps reveal infections in the rectum and it is done using a thin, flexible tube fitted with a light and camera lens at the end to allow examination of the inside large intestine.
Bowel disease is a lifelong condition; therefore, the primary goal for its management is always to find ways to keep it in remission as long as possible so that the patient experiences few to no symptoms. There are various treatment and maintenance approaches for bowel disease, such as dietary changes and medications like biologics, immunomodulators, and aminosalicylates (Fiorino et al., 2019). There has been increased study on nutritional interventions for improving inflammation and helping control symptoms. Dieticians play a crucial role in designing a balanced nutrition program for patients to assist in the alleviation of symptoms.
Aminosalicylates are aspirin-like maintenance medications such as balsalazide, sulfasalazine, and mesalamine that alleviate inflammation at the intestinal wall. Mainly these medications are used for the treatment of ulcerative colitis in mild-to-moderate form and sometimes in Crohn’s disease. Immunomodulators work by decreasing immune system activities, and the most commonly used are methotrexate, azathioprine, and 6-mercaptopurine. Biologics work by blocking inflammatory chemicals in the blood and reducing the number of immune system cells in the patient body. These medications are used when a patient does not respond to other medicines or experiences side effects from such treatments. In most cases, biologic medicines are given through infusions or injections and include Entyvio, Sterlara, Simponi, Humira, and Remicade.
Reference
Fiorino, G., Allocca, M., Chaparro, M., Coenen, S., Fidalgo, C., Younge, L., & Gisbert, J. P. (2019). Quality of care standards in inflammatory bowel disease: A systematic review. Journal of Crohn’s and Colitis, 13(1), 127-137.