Contribution of specialist nurses in managing patients with IBD.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a collective term for the medical conditions ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease. Both are chronic relapsing remitting diseases with a major impact on a patient's quality of life. Symptoms of the diseases include increased bowel frequency, abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, urgency and incontinence, weight loss and reduced appetite. There is no known medical cure for either condition, and surgery often involves stoma formation and, therefore, has major implications for the patient in terms of management and body image.