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Utility of Biomarkers in the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

  • Inflammatory Bowel Disease (G Lichtenstein, Section Editor)
  • Published:
Current Treatment Options in Gastroenterology Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Opinion statement

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is comprised of complex clinical and pathological conditions. It runs a chronic course, and proper management requires constant monitoring of disease activity. Recent evidence suggests that subjective patient scores have a poor correlation with disease activity. Endoscopy remains the gold standard for diagnosing and monitoring disease activity. As healthcare is moving towards less costly and less invasive treatments, the need for biomarkers in the management of IBD is evident. Over the last decade, several biomarkers have been found, which may correct the discrepancy between subjective patient scores and the need for endoscopy.

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Abbreviations

ANCA:

Antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies

p-ANCA:

Perinuclear antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies

c-ANCA:

Cytoplasmic antineutrophil cytoplasmic antibodies

ASCA:

Antibodies against Saccharomyces cerevisiae

AUROC:

Area under receiver operating characteristic

BMI:

Body mass index

CI:

Confidence interval

CD:

Crohn’s disease

CDAI:

Crohn’s disease activity index

CRP:

C-reactive protein

ESR:

Erythrocyte sedimentation rate

ESLD:

End-stage liver disease

FCP:

Fecal calprotectin

FL:

Fecal lactoferrin

GI:

Gastrointestinal

IBD:

Inflammatory bowel disease

ICU:

Intensive care unit

IBS:

Irritable bowel syndrome

IQR:

Interquartile range

POCER:

Postoperative Crohn’s Endoscopic Recurrence

UC:

Ulcerative colitis

VOC:

Volatile organic compounds

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Correspondence to Bret Lashner MD MPH.

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Gursimran Kochhar declares that he has no conflict of interest.

Bret Lashner declares that he has no conflict of interest.

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This article does not contain any studies with human or animal subjects performed by any of the authors.

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This article is part of the Topical Collection on Inflammatory Bowel Disease

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Kochhar, G., Lashner, B. Utility of Biomarkers in the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease. Curr Treat Options Gastro 15, 105–115 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11938-017-0129-z

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