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Medical Author:

Bhupinder Anand, MD

Medical Editor:

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD

Jay W. Marks, MD, is a board-certified internist and gastroenterologist. He graduated from Yale University School of Medicine and trained in internal medicine and gastroenterology at UCLA/Cedars-Sinai Medical Center in Los Angeles.

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In this Article

• What is colitis?
• What diseases are not colitis?
• What is microscopic colitis?
• What causes microscopic colitis?
• What are the symptoms of microscopic colitis?
• How common is microscopic colitis and who is at risk?
• When should I seek medical care for microscopic colitis?
• How is microscopic colitis diagnosed?
• What is the treatment for microscopic colitis?
• What is the prognosis of microscopic colitis?
• Can microscopic colitis be prevented?
• Patient Comments: Microscopic Colitis - Symptoms
• Patient Comments: Microscopic Colitis - Treatments
• Patient Comments: Microscopic Colitis - Cause
• Find a local Gastroenterologist in your town
• Lymphocytic Colitis Index

Since the cause of microscopic colitis is not known, no advice can be provided about preventing this disease.

The long term prognosis (course) of microscopic colitis is not clear. In approximately two-thirds of the patients with microscopic colitis, the diarrhea resolves spontaneously after several years. The remaining one-third of the patients experience persistent or intermittent diarrhea for many years (possibly indefinitely).

References: eMedicine.com. Collagenous and Lymphocytic Colitis.
<http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/180664-overview>

R H Riddell, M Tanaka, and G Mazzoleni. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs as a possible cause of collagenous colitis: a case-control study. Gut. 1992 May; 33(5): 683–686.

Previous contributing medical author: Dennis Lee, M.D.