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Causes
By Mayo Clinic staff
Several diseases and conditions can cause the lining of the rectum to become inflamed (proctitis). They include:
- Inflammatory bowel diseases. About 30 percent of people with inflammatory bowel disease have inflammation of the rectum.
- Infections. Sexually transmitted infections, spread particularly by people who engage in anal intercourse, can result in proctitis. Sexually transmitted infections that can cause proctitis include gonorrhea, genital herpes and chlamydia. Infections associated with foodborne illness, such as salmonella, shigella and campylobacter infections, can also induce proctitis.
- Radiation therapy for cancer. Radiation therapy directed at your rectum or nearby areas can cause irritation of the lining of your rectum. Radiation proctitis can begin during radiation treatment and last for a few months after treatment. Or it can occur years after treatment.
- Antibiotics used to treat an infection can sometimes kill helpful bacteria in the bowels, allowing the harmful Clostridium difficile bacteria to gain a foothold in the rectum.
- Proctitis in children. Proctitis sometimes occurs in breast-fed children and in children who have strep throat. A form of proctitis caused by accumulation of a kind of white blood cell (eosinophil) in the lining of the rectum affects only children younger than 2.
References
- Proctitis. National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/proctitis/index.htm. Accessed May 1, 2012.
- Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?about=true&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..X0001-1--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&uniqId=230100505-57. Accessed May 1, 2012.
- Hoentjen F, et al. Infectious proctitis: When to suspect it is not inflammatory bowel disease. Digestive Diseases and Sciences. 2012; 57:269.
- Nostrant TT, et al. Clinical features, diagnosis, and treatment of radiation proctitis. http://www.uptodate.com/home/index. Accessed May 1, 2012.
- Burger D, et al. Conventional medical management of inflammatory bowel disease. Gastroenterology. 2011;140:1827.
- Feldman M, et al. Sleisenger & Fordtran's Gastrointestinal and Liver Disease: Pathophysiology, Diagnosis, Management. 9th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/books/about.do?eid=4-u1.0-B978-1-4160-6189-2..X0001-7--TOP&isbn=978-1-4160-6189-2&about=true&uniqId=229935664-2192. Accessed May 1, 2012.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. May 9, 2012.
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