Ulcerative colitis: STRIDE-ing beyond symptoms with new standards

Shu Wen Tay; Kevin Kim Jun Teh; Tiing-Leong Ang; Malcolm Tan

doi:10.11622/smedj.2021173

Ulcerative colitis: STRIDE-ing beyond symptoms with new standards

Singapore Med J. 2024 Feb 1;65(2):99-105. doi: 10.11622/smedj.2021173. Epub 2021 Nov 26.

Authors

Shu Wen Tay¹, Kevin Kim Jun Teh¹, Tiing-Leong Ang^{1

2

3}, Malcolm Tan^{2

3

4}

Affiliations

¹ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Changi General Hospital, Singapore.
² Medicine ACP, SingHealth Duke-NUS Academic Medical Centre, Singapore.
³ Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine, National University of Singapore, Singapore.
⁴ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Singapore General Hospital, Singapore.

Abstract

The landscape of ulcerative colitis has changed in the last two decades. Advancements in pharmacotherapeutics have heralded the introduction of new treatment options, with many agents in development. Better clinical outcomes are seen with tighter disease control, made possible with greater understanding of inflammatory pathways and their blockade with drugs. There has been a resultant shift in treatment targets, beyond symptoms to endoscopic and histological healing. Controlling the burden of disease activity also lowers the risk of developing colorectal cancer. Colorectal cancer screening now requires the use of dye-based agents and high-definition colonoscopy to improve the detection of colonic neoplasms.

MeSH terms

Colitis, Ulcerative* / diagnosis
Colitis, Ulcerative* / drug therapy
Colitis, Ulcerative* / pathology
Colonic Neoplasms*
Colonoscopy
Colorectal Neoplasms* / diagnosis
Humans
Wound Healing