Gay bowel syndrome

{INSERTKEYS}[1]. {/INSERTKEYS}

Sexually transmitted bowel and rectal diseases are common in gay men and are caused by a wide variety of infectious agents. In evaluating proctologic problems in the gay male, all of the known sexually transmitted diseases should be considered.

Gay men are more than twice as likely to develop inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) than heterosexual men when both populations engage in high-risk sexual activity, according to new research from the Digestive Health Research Institute at Case Western Reserve University and University Hospitals Cleveland Medical Center (UH).

Concurrent infections with 2 or more pathogens should be anticipated. A clinical pattern of anorectal and colon diseases encountered with unusual frequency in these homosexual patients is termed the gay bowel syndrome.

gay bowel PMC National :

Chlamydia trachomatis, an important cause of nonspecific urethritis in the general population, is high on the list of possible causes of the nonspecific proctitis present in 31 of the patients. It was first used by Dr. Henry L. Kazal in to describe conditions he observed in his proctology practice, which had many gay patients.

The clinical diagnoses in decreasing order of frequency include condyloma acuminata, hemorrhoids, nonspecific proctitis, anal fistula, perirectal abscess, anal fissure, amebiasis, benign polyps, viral hepatitis, gonorrhea, syphilis, anorectal trauma and foreign bodies, shigellosis, rectal ulcers and lymphogranuloma venereum.

Each of the entities implicated in the gay bowel syndrome is considered separately and epidemiologic considerations responsible for the appearance of such a syndrome are examin. Publication types Case Reports. Of 21 patients with biopsy diagnosis of nonspecific proctitis, 8 had a specific infection which was detected by other means, cases of shigellosis and one case each of gonorrheal proctitis, amebiasis and lymphogranuloma venereum.

lsquo Gay bowel syndrome : It is more commonly described in heterosexual patients in the developing world then in gay men, emphasizing the minor contribution of Salmonella to the gay bowel syndrome

Microbiological evaluation is essential. Shigellosis, amebiasis and viral hepatitis should be included. " Gay bowel syndrome " is an obsolete classification of various sexually transmitted rectal infections observed in men who have sex with men.