Plasma Fibrinogen Levels in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Compared to a Control Group

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is comprised of two major disorders: ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. These disorders have distinct pathologic and clinical characteristics but their pathogenesis remains poorly understood. Some studies showed a relationship between IBD and thromboembolic disorders. The prevalence of thromboembolic disorders has been reported as 39% in autopsies. In addition, there is a relation between IBD and level of fibrinogen. This study was conducted to understand the relation between IBD and fibrinogen levels in Iranian patients. This cross-sectional study was performed in Ayatollah Kashani Hospital, Isfahan, Iran during 2010-2011. Hospitalized patients with a diagnosis of IBD according to Leonard Jones criteria were invited to participate in this study. Individuals who used anticoagulants, heparin, or oral contraceptive pills (OCPs), pregnancy women and patients with cancer were excluded. Venous blood samples were collected and fibrinogen levels were measured in the laboratory. Finally, the data was analyzed by SPSS18. : The mean ± SD levels of fibrinogen in the ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease and control groups were 347.8 ± 11.7, 286.4 ± 88.5 and 346.6 ± 109.2, respectively. According to analysis of variance (ANOVA), a statistically significant difference existed between the three groups (P = 0.023). Based on the results of this study, serum fibrinogen levels in the ulcerative colitis group were not different from the control group. However, the levels in the Crohn's disease group were lower than the control group. Thus, further studies must be performed to precisely understand the relation between IBD and fibrinogen levels.