Proctitis (Rectal Inflammation): Or something else? Differential Diagnosis

Infectious and parasitic diseases (A00-B99).

Mouth, esophagus (food pipe), stomach, and intestines (K00-K67; K90-K93).

  • Anal fissure – painful tearing of the mucous membrane at the anus.
  • Anal fistula – inflammatory altered ducts (fistulas) in the anal region.
  • Anorectal pain (anal discomfort) of various causes.
  • Ulcerative colitis – chronic inflammatory disease of the mucosa of the colon (large intestine) or rectum (rectum); here: distal form of ulcerative colitis (= ulcerative proctitis; about one third of all cases of ulcerative colitis).
  • Diarrhea (diarrhea), chronic or recurrent (recurrent).
  • Gastrointestinal bleeding (gastrointestinal bleeding).
  • Hemorrhoidal disease
  • Melena (blood in the stool)
  • Crohn’s diseasechronic inflammatory bowel disease; it usually progresses in relapses and can affect the entire digestive tract; characteristic is the segmental involvement of the intestinal mucosa (intestinal mucosa), that is, several intestinal segments may be affected, which are separated from each other by healthy sections; possibly anal or perianal fistulas (54%)Note: Crohn’s disease may be oligosymptomatic or first manifest in an atypical location. Approximately 20-30% of patients with Crohn’s disease have perianal lesions.
  • Perianal abscess – encapsulated collection of pus located in the region of the anus (anus).
  • Psychogenic pruritus ani (eg, due to anxiety, depression, stress).
  • Solitary rectal ulcer syndrome (SRUS) – rare benign (benign) disorder characterized by a combination of symptoms, clinical findings, and histologic abnormalities; sterile ulceration (ulceration) or extensive erythema (patchy redness) almost always present on the anterior rectal wall; associated with discharge of mucus or blood; occurs in middle-aged and young adults and less commonly in children; incidence of 1: 100,000 adults.

Symptoms and abnormal clinical and laboratory findings not elsewhere classified (R00-R99).

  • Hip and pelvic pain
  • Fecal incontinence (inability to hold back bowel movements)

Injuries, poisonings, and other consequences of external causes (S00-T98).

  • Radiation proctitis following radiotherapy (radiotherapy).