Pulmonary complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease.

BACKGROUND/AIMS: Between 1996 and 1998 we investigated the occurrence of lung disorders in 82 patients with inflammatory bowel disease (30 patients with ulcerative colitis and 52 patients with Crohn's disease) and a control group of 60 subjects. The aim of our study was to determine the occurrence of pulmonary complications in patients with inflammatory bowel disease, to investigate whether ulcerative colitis or Crohn's disease are connected with a typical lung function disorder, with the inflammatory activity of the disease or if they depend on the presence of other extraintestinal manifestations.

METHODOLOGY

We investigated the occurrence of lung disorders in terms of the following parameters: clinical pulmonary symptoms, chest radiography and pulmonary function tests (body plethysmography, pneumotachography, lung transfer capacity for carbon monoxide, and blood gas analysis).

RESULTS

Lung function abnormalities were significantly more frequent in patients with inflammatory bowel disease as compared to controls (p<0.001). There was no apparent correlation between these abnormalities and either bowel disease activity or drug administration (sulphasalazine, mesalazine).

CONCLUSIONS

Despite the lack of radiological abnormalities, we identified a high incidence of pulmonary function abnormalities (suspicious of interstitial lung disorder) in patients with inflammatory bowel disease; 56.7% of patients with ulcerative colitis and 57.7% of patients with Crohn's disease had reduced lung transfer factor.