Increased colonic wall thickness has been reported in patientsexposed to large doses of high strength pancreatic enzyme preparations who did not develop fibrosing colonopathy. This has been interpreted asevidence for a spectrum of subclinical disease. The relation betweensonographically measured colonic wall thickness and pancreatic enzymepreparation and dose was studied in 86 children with cystic fibrosis(CF). Colonic wall thickness of a control group was also measured. Theaverage thickness in all colonic regions was higher in the CF group(overall average range 0.7-2.5 mm v 0.6-1.4 mm in thecontrol group). There was no significant relation between colonic wallthickness and age, sex, total dose of lipase, or copolymer. Apart fromone patient with an early colonic stricture, none of those exposed tohigh doses of lipase, or the methacrylic acid copolymer Eudragit L30D55, showed evidence of subclinical damage to the colon. Thereproducibility of the sonographic measurements was poor.
展开▼
