P086 - Which activity index for ulcerative colitis (UC)? Evaluation of inter-observer variation in clinical, endoscopic and composite indices

Outcomes of salvage therapy for steroid-refractory acute severe ulcerative colitis: ciclosporin vs. infliximab

“…Other investigators have used different measures of disease severity including the modified Truelove and Witts' criteria (Lichtiger score) and other indices that incorporate factors such as endoscopic appearance and physician assessments of general well‐being and abdominal pain. The inclusion of these subjective criteria has the potential to widen the spectrum of disease severity within the case population, reduce the reproducibility and objectivity of patient selection processes as well as influence treatment response rates when these criteria are also used to determine success of therapy . Furthermore, some investigators have chosen to include in their series patients with presentations of moderate severity according to these indices .…”

“…The inclusion of these subjective criteria has the potential to widen the spectrum of disease severity within the case population, reduce the reproducibility and objectivity of patient selection processes as well as influence treatment response rates when these criteria are also used to determine success of therapy. 32 Furthermore, some investigators have chosen to include in their series patients with presentations of moderate severity according to these indices. 5,6,[9][10][11] It is assumed that the severity of the initial presentation influences the probability of success of salvage therapy, regardless of the agent employed.…”