Background : Health related quality of life (HRQOL) is a concept which encapsulates a wide spectrum of physical, social and emotional behaviours and preceptions of individuals and population affected by illness. The assessment HRQOL plays an increasing important role in the evaluation of therapeutic interventions in various chronic diseases including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD).
Method : HRQOL assessment was done with standard IBD quality of life questionnaire in 30 patients with ulcerative colitis, of which 15 patients were being treated medically and 15 had failed medical treatment and undergone surgery. These were compared with a group of 15 apparently healthy control subjects. Of the medically managed patients 4 were in exacerbation, 2 had mild activity and 9 were in remission, of the 15 surgically treated patients 9 patients had ileostomy and 6 had ileal and rectal anastomosis with or without pouch.Results and Conclusion : Medically controlled patients with ulcerative colitis have a reasonably good quality of life (mean score 168.6 ± 56.2 vs 222.4 ± 4.8 in controls). The quality of life in-patients who do not respond to medical treatment is very poor (Pre-operative score 85.8 ± 39.2). The quality of life improves considerably after surgery (mean score 184.6 ± 54.9) and is comparable to medically treated group. The quality of life in patients with ileostomy (206.6 ± 34.2) is better than patients undergoing ileoanal anastomosis with or without pouch (133.6 ± 59.9).