Histologic Features with Predictive Value for Outcome of Patients with Ulcerative Colitis

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory bowel disease with variable evolution, in which is difficult to establish patient's outcome. Histology is an important part of diagnosis of ulcerative colitis and has an increasing role in patients' management, since increasingly more histologic features with predictive value are being identified and validated. This chapter presents the most important histologic prognostic factors that should be included in histologic reports of patients with ulcerative colitis. Basal plasmacytosis and histologic healing are the most significant validated factors of prognosis in ulcerative colitis, while dysplasia is important since colorectal carcinoma is a severe complication of the disease.