Laboratory Diagnosis of Ulcerative Colitis and the Possibility of Personalized Assessment in Real Conditions

Abstract

Laboratory diagnostics of ulcerative colitis today are based on a limited number of used laboratory markers; in most cases, these are C-reactive protein and fecal calprotectin. However, given the diversity of ulcerative colitis manifestations, the frequency of relapses and complications, as well as fairly frequent cases of “non-response” to the basic therapy, it is time to reconsider routine views on the laboratory diagnostics of this disease. Taking into account both the features of the clinical course and endoscopic visualization, as well as the constant dependence of diagnostics on pathomorphological assessment, the authors of this chapter offer an extensive review and the results of their own studies related to the use of new laboratory markers for diagnostics and real assessment of the patient’s condition without endoscopy and pathomorphology. Only on the basis of a complete assessment of the patient’s condition is it possible to build a new personalized approach for further successful therapeutic response in real conditions.