Although ulcerative colitis has been known since 1875 and many extraintestinal manifesattions of this disease have been described, it was only that emphasis was placed on the involvement of the respiratory tract. Severe complications have been described in patients, such as inflammatory tracheal stenosis, bronchiolitis with pnemonia, interstitial pneumonitis, Wegener granulomatosis, chronic bronchitis with bronchiectasis, necrobiotic nodules, vasculitis, fibrosis and alveolitis. The objective of the present study was to determine the pulmonary changes occuring during the acute phase of the disease in rats submitted to induction of the disease with 10% acetic acid and to compared to normal controls. It was observed that 100% of the animals with colitis developed a pulmonary inflammatory reaction (p=0,0210) of moderate to severe intensity (p=0,0340). Vasculitis was observed in 58,33% of the lungs (p=0,0060) and focal hemorrhage, necrosis and abscesses were detected in 3 animals. These findings permit us to conclude about the presence of a strong correlation between inflammatory colon disease and changes in the respiratory apparatus during the acute phase of the disease in rats.
Ulcerative colitis; Lung; Pneumopathy
