Hypothesis--pouchitis represents a useful clinical model of ulcerative colitis.

Various mechanisms have been proposed for the aetiology of inflammation in ileal pouches following restorative proctocolectomy. It is proposed that many of these processes may be involved in the pathogenesis of ulcerative colitis, and therefore pouchitis may be used to study pathogenesis and treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in general and, in particular, ulcerative colitis.