Endoscopic characteristics of the healing process of ulcerative colitis

This study compared the histologic characteristics of ulcerative colitis with findings on conventional colonoscopy and on magnification and dye application for 70 sites that underwent biopsy. The primary objective was to study the correspondence between histologic findings and endoscopic findings with respect to glandular restructuring and the resolution of inflammation from the active to the remission phase of ulcerative colitis. Widened grooves, as assessed by the endoscopic staining technique and magnified observation, most closely correlated with histologic evidence of resolution of inflammation, and vascular markings and color tone of the mucosa on general colonoscopy most closely correlated with histologic evidence of glandular restructuring, such as glandular maturity. Magnifying endoscopy after dye application, in addition to conventional endoscopy, is therefore considered essential in the evaluation of ulcerative colitis during the resolving phase.