Prevalence of occult inflammatory bowel disease in ankylosing spondylitis

Fifty-five patients with ankylosing spondylitis and 16 control patients matched for sex and age were examined for evidence of occult inflammatory bowel disease. In all patients evaluation included history and physical examination, barium enema, sigmoidoscopy, and rectal biopsy. The results of this study suggest that there is no increased prevalence of occult inflammatory bowel disease in patients with ankylosing spondylitis.