IBUS-SAS Is a Highly Accurate Intestinal Ultrasound Score for Predicting Endoscopic Disease Activity in Ulcerative...

Area of Science:

• Gastroenterology
• Medical Imaging
• Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Background:

• The International Bowel Ultrasound Group-Segmental Activity Score (IBUS-SAS) is validated for Crohn's disease (CD) activity assessment.
• This study investigates the utility of IBUS-SAS for evaluating disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC).

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine if IBUS-SAS can accurately assess disease activity in ulcerative colitis (UC).
• To correlate IBUS-SAS findings with established clinical, endoscopic, and histologic markers of UC activity.

Main Methods:

• The IBUS-SAS and Limberg scores were applied to the sigmoid colon in UC patients.
• Correlations were made with clinical (pMS), endoscopic (eMS, UCEIS), histologic (Nancy index), and biomarker (CRP, fecal calprotectin) scores.
• Receiver operating characteristic (ROC) analysis evaluated sensitivity, specificity, PPV, and NPV for predicting disease activity.

Main Results:

• Fifty-eight UC patients were analyzed; median IBUS-SAS was 34.8.
• IBUS-SAS significantly correlated with pMS, eMS, UCEIS, Nancy index, CRP, and fecal calprotectin.
• A cutoff of 15.9 for IBUS-SAS demonstrated 100% sensitivity and 80.0% specificity for endoscopic activity prediction, with high PPV (94.7%) and NPV (100%).

Conclusions:

• Ultrasound, specifically IBUS-SAS, shows potential for non-invasive disease activity quantification in UC.
• IBUS-SAS is suggested as a valuable diagnostic tool for UC clinical trials and real-world patient management.