Researchers sought to confirm the long-held belief that inflammatory bowel disease could be asymptomatic and diagnosed incidentally, according to a study published in Digestive and Liver Disease.
Researchers examined 4,640 patients who underwent a colonoscopy between Sept. 1, 2013, and Aug. 31, 2019. They looked for endoscopic findings suggestive of IBD.
Researchers found:
1. Fifty-four patients had endoscopic findings suggestive of IBD.
2. Forty patients had Crohn's disease and 14 had ulcerative colitis.
3. Physicians diagnosed IBD in 19 patients, including 13 cases of Crohn's and six of ulcerative colitis.
Researchers concluded: "Endoscopic findings suggestive of IBD are not infrequent in an asymptomatic colorectal cancer screening population. Visualization of the terminal ileum is recommended in this setting. A definite diagnosis of IBD was made in about 1 out of 3 subjects with endoscopic lesions."