Concurrence of ulcerative colitis and chronic acitve hepatitis, Clinical courses and results of colectomy.

Seven patients with coexisting chronic active hepatitis and ulcerative colitis are reviewed. The activity of the two diseases varied independently. Proctocolectomy was necessitated in 6 patients and was followed by disappearance or decreased in titres of smooth muscle and antinuclear autoantibodies and immunoglobulins and, in one patient, by a rapid normalization of markedly elevated transaminases. Although the series are small, we feel that our data suggest that proctocolectomy for severe ulcerative colitis may have some beneficial effect on a coexisting chronic active hepatitis.