• It is an inflammatory disease of the colon caused by Entemoeba histolytica.
• Disease; It may progress as asymptomatic, noninvasive colitis, invasive colitis or fulminant colitis.
• The course of the disease depends on the pathogenicity of the agent and the immunity of the person.
• Bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, nausea-vomiting, loss of appetite, fever and weight loss may occur.
• The first approach in diagnosis is microscopic examination for amoeba trophozooid in fresh stool.
In particular, the presence of amoeba trophozoids that have phagocytized erythrocyte is valuable in the diagnosis.
• In the treatment of amoeba, it is important to treat both tissue-invading trophosides (tissue form) and cysts (intestinal form), which are responsible for infectivity and carriage.
• Metronidazole is the most important drug in the treatment of active disease and therefore trophozoids. Metronidazole is also mildly effective on the cyst form. Emetine is used in cases unresponsive to metronidazole (effective only in tissue form).
• Intestinal form-effective drugs are used to prevent carriage. These; dUoxanide furoate, iodoquinol, paramomycin and tetracycline.
• Amoebic colitis may be clinically confused with or superposed on ulcerative colitis.
Steroid therapy may lead to the development of fulminant colitis in patients with amoeba. Therefore, amoeba should be ruled out when steroids are to be administered in patients with ulcerative colitis.