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Complications
By Mayo Clinic staffProctitis that isn't treated or that doesn't respond to treatment may lead to complications, including:
- Anemia. Chronic bleeding from your rectum caused by proctitis can cause anemia. With anemia, you don't have enough red blood cells to carry adequate oxygen to your tissues. Anemia causes you to feel tired, and you may also experience dizziness, shortness of breath, headache, pale skin and irritability.
- Ulcers. Chronic inflammation in the rectum can lead to open sores (ulcers) on the inside lining of the rectum.
- Fistulas. Sometimes ulcers extend completely through the intestinal wall, creating a fistula, an abnormal connection that can occur between different parts of your intestine, between your intestine and skin, or between your intestine and other organs, such as the bladder and vagina. For women, a recto-vaginal fistula can connect the rectum to the vagina, causing bowel contents to drain from the vagina.
References
- Proctitis. National Institute for Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. http://digestive.niddk.nih.gov/ddiseases/pubs/proctitis/index.htm. Accessed Feb. 26, 2010.
- Leiper K, et al. Treatment of radiation proctitis. Clinical Oncology. 2007;19:724.
- Lee PK, et al. Condyloma and other infections including human immunodeficiency virus. Surgical Clinics of North America. 2010;90:99.
- Coates WC. Disorders of the anorectum. In: Marx JA, et al. Rosen's Emergency Medicine: Concepts and Clinical Practice. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Mosby; 2009. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-323-05472-0..X0001-1--TOP&isbn=978-0-323-05472-0&uniq=192498651. Accessed Feb. 26, 2010.
- Zuckerman KS. Approach to the anemias. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/186591636-6/0/1492/0.html. Accessed March 2, 2010.
- Stamm WE, et al. Chlamydia trachomatis (trachoma, perinatal infections, lymphogranuloma venereum and other genital infections). In: Mandell GL, et al. Mandell, Douglas and Bennett's Principles and Practice of Infectious Diseases. 7th ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Churchill Livingstone; 2010. http://www.mdconsult.com/book/player/book.do?method=display&type=aboutPage&decorator=header&eid=4-u1.0-B978-0-443-06839-3..X0001-X--TOP&isbn=978-0-443-06839-3&uniq=192498651. Accessed March 2, 2010.
- Stenson WF. Inflammatory bowel disease. In: Goldman L, et al. Cecil Medicine. 23rd ed. Philadelphia, Pa.: Saunders Elsevier; 2007. http://www.mdconsult.com/das/book/body/186591636-6/0/1492/0.html. Accessed March 2, 2010.
- Lakatos PL, et al. Ulcerative proctitis: A review of pharmacotherapy and management. Expert Opinion Pharmacotherapy. 2008;9:741.
- Picco MF (expert opinion). Mayo Clinic, Jacksonville, Fla. March 10, 2010.
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