[Advances in the management of ulcerative colitis presented at Digestive Disease Week 2011]

Many studies on ulcerative colitis were presented in Digestive Disease Week 2011, some of which reported important information for clinical practice. Some authors have reported predictive factors of colectomy in these patients, as well as the most frequent complications associated with surgical treatment. Other studies provided new data on the incidence of dysplasia and colorectal cancer, as well as on the correlation between clinical activity and endoscopy in patients with ulcerative colitis. In this congress, special attention was drawn to studies evaluating the effectiveness of new drugs in ulcerative colitis, such as adalimumab, and to studies proposing strategies to optimize the effectiveness of the conventional drugs, such as 5-aminosalicylates, thiopurines or steroids.