Ulcerative colitis (UC) is characterized by inflammation of the mucosal layer of the colon that usually involves the rectum and extends proximally toward the cecum. Discontinuous peri-appendiceal lesion named cecal patch has been described recently in UC patients, but its clinical significance is not clear. Here we report the frequency and clinical characteristics of isolated cecal patch in patients diagnosed with UC.

We evaluated the medical records of 548 patients (301, 54.9% male and 247, 45.1% female) with UC who referred to an outpatient clinic from 2009 to 2019. For all patients with cecal patch, the disease progression, duration of follow-up, type and dosage of medications, and the need for colectomy were recorded.

Fourteen (2.55%) patients with UC (8 female) with the mean age of presentation of 51.21 (43.84-58.58) years had isolated cecal patch during their endoscopic procedure. Seven patients had involvement limited to the recto-sigmoid and 5 patients were diagnosed with characteristic findings up to splenic flexure. In two patients, there was mild inflammation up to hepatic flexure. The mean follow-up duration was 53.42 (32.40-74.45) months. Among these patients, 12 were on mesalamine, 4 on azathioprine and eight on sulfasalazine. During follow up, the proximal extension of the disease did not occur in any of the patients.

Although cecal patch is not rare endoscopic finding in patients with UC, there were no clear correlations between cecal patch and disease extension in this mean follow-up duration.