Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2023 Aug 1;29(8):1317-1326. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izac170.

Ajit Sood ¹, Arshdeep Singh ¹, Ramit Mahajan ¹, Vandana Midha ², Charles N Bernstein ³, David T Rubin ⁴

Author information

¹Department of Gastroenterology, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.

²Department of Internal Medicine, Dayanand Medical College and Hospital, Ludhiana, Punjab, India.

³IBD Clinical and Research Centre and Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, Max Rady College of Medicine, Rady Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.

⁴Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.

Abstract

As the therapeutic targets in ulcerative colitis (UC) shift from control of symptoms to mucosal healing and prevention of disease complications like disability, colectomy, and cancer, the definition of remission has evolved. The current definition of clinical remission is variable and is determined by the clinical context in which it is being used. This results in skepticism and uncertainty about the true meaning of the term "clinical remission." In this review, the authors reexamine the definition of clinical remission and propose a novel approach to define remission in UC.