Koskela RM, Niemelä SE, Lehtola JK et al. Scand J Gastroenterol 2011;46:567–76.
Koskela and colleagues examined the upper gastrointestinal tract in patients with microscopic colitis (MC) and compared the findings with those of a control group. Overall, the occurrence of gastric erosions did not differ between MC patients and controls; however, among a subgroup of Helicobatcer pylori-positive subjects, patients with MC more frequently exhibited erosions than did controls subjects.
Microscopic colitis (MC) is a clinicopathological syndrome characterized by chronic diarrhea and colorectal inflammation, but without significant endoscopic abnormalities. There are two histological subtypes of MC: collagenous colitis (CC) and lymphocytic colitis (LC). In this study, endoscopic and histopathological findings of the upper gastrointestinal tract were analyzed in an unselected series of 75 patients with MC and in an age- and gender-matched series of controls. Histological samples collected at gastroscopy were obtained for 75 patients affected by MC as well as for 60 control subjects.