does ulcerative skip around like crohns?

Does anyone know if UC "skips" around the intestines?

Thanks in advance!

Stacy

I did not think so either, I had an appt with a new GI today that said it did.

I am so confused. After and original dx of UC 15 years ago, it was changed 5 years ago to Crohn's and now this new GI said "all your data points to UC".

It's not suppose to but it can be patchy. There are no absolutes in anything. Mine was more patchy upon last colonoscopy. My rectum and last portion of sigmoid was clear, then started getting patchy, then more continuous inflammation.

When I was originally diagnosed the doctor said I had it in in the beginning part and toward the end of my colon, so I guess it can be patchy, unless I actually have Crohn's and he didn't diagnose it right.

I heard once you're treating it, it can be patchy and skip areas.

One of the major differences between UC and CD is that with CD there are skipped patterns of inflammation (inflammation with healthy tissue in between inflamed), with UC the entire area will be inflamed with no skipped pattern of inflammation. The other major difference is the CD can affect any part of the GI tract, UC is limited to the colon/rectom, and one more is with CD the inflammation can (doesn't always) go through the many layers of the intestinal lining, UC is limited to the surface of the lining only. Many crohnies can have only their colon affected by crohn's, and for others it can appear in more than one area at the same time including the colon.

Generally colonoscopies are the best way for a good GI to determine between either UC or CD, the rest of the testing they do (blood, stool) isn't as accurate as what they see with their eyes, unfortunately there are plenty of GI's out their that still don't know the key signs to look for.

I think pb4 and quincy said it best in my opinion.  Not much to add.  UC as a rule doesn't skip and Chron's does.  Also UC is limited to the large colon and won't be in the small intestine while Chron's can be in both or just one.  The major difference is that UC just effects one layer while Chron's effects many layers of the intestinal wall.  This can be very tricky to the naked eye and must involve a pathologist who will make the final call.  In other words the cellular level can be very different from the visual eye level.  In conclusion, no UC usually doesn't skip around like Chron's.

MyUC

Songlady, I'm sure it is. I saw a study that said at least 44% of UC patients had patchy inflammation on their first colonoscopy after treatment had begun.

In regards to what Quincy said about cecal patches being a pointer towards developement of pancolitis, this study says the opposite:

UC may progress proximally over time. The finding of inflammatory changes around the appendiceal orifice (cecal patch or periappendiceal patch) in the setting of UC with an otherwise normal right colon should not be confused with CD. The clinical implication of cecal patch is not clear, although a recent controlled study revealed that patients with UC with cecal patch had a similar rate of remission, relapse, and proximal extension compared with those with no cecal patch.

So, who knows?

To the original question, my FIRST colonoscopy (before any treatment) showed a biopsy result of "mild chronic colitis" in the ascending colon and a cecal patch. Despite this, I was diagnosed with UC through the colonoscopy and biopsies. The ascending colitis was not visible to the naked eye. My GI, likes yours AMK77, said this ascending inflammation is not proof of Crohn's and was so minute normal people could have it. Don't know why it wasn't labled "acute" though if that is the case.

LOL, are you more confused now? Over the years I have just come to accept there are alot of inconsistencies in this disease.