IBD IBD Disease Monitoring and Activity Assessment 1 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which scoring system is used to assess Crohn's disease activity using parameters such as general well-being, abdominal pain, number of liquid stools, abdominal mass, and complications?
- Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) (Correct answer)
- Mayo Score
- Truelove and Witts Criteria
- Baron Score
Correct answer: Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI)
The Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI) assesses Crohn's disease activity using five clinical parameters: general well-being, abdominal pain, number of liquid stools per day, abdominal mass, and complications.
Question 2: The Truelove and Witts criteria classify disease severity based on stool frequency, rectal bleeding, temperature, pulse, hemoglobin, and ESR in which condition?
- Crohn's disease
- Ulcerative colitis (Correct answer)
- Microscopic colitis
- Indeterminate colitis
Correct answer: Ulcerative colitis
Truelove and Witts criteria classify ulcerative colitis severity as mild, moderate, or severe using clinical and laboratory parameters including stool frequency, rectal bleeding, pulse, temperature, hemoglobin, and ESR.
Question 3: In the full Mayo Scoring system for ulcerative colitis, what is the maximum possible total score?
- 9
- 12 (Correct answer)
- 15
- 18
Correct answer: 12
The full Mayo Score comprises four subscores (stool frequency, rectal bleeding, endoscopy findings, and physician's global assessment), each ranging 0–3, yielding a maximum total score of 12.
Question 4: The Partial Mayo Score is a useful non-invasive monitoring tool for ulcerative colitis because it:
- Incorporates endoscopic findings without colonoscopy
- Excludes the endoscopic subscore and relies on clinical parameters only (Correct answer)
- Measures stool frequency and bleeding only
- Requires only fecal biomarker results
Correct answer: Excludes the endoscopic subscore and relies on clinical parameters only
The Partial Mayo Score omits the endoscopic subscore, allowing clinicians to monitor UC activity between colonoscopies using only stool frequency, rectal bleeding, and physician's global assessment.
Question 5: The Crohn's Disease Activity Index (CDAI) defines clinical remission as a score below which value?
- 100
- 150 (Correct answer)
- 200
- 250
Correct answer: 150
A CDAI score below 150 is defined as clinical remission in Crohn's disease, while scores above 450 indicate very severe disease activity.
Question 6: Which non-invasive biomarker is released from neutrophils in inflamed intestinal mucosa and correlates most closely with endoscopic disease activity in IBD?
- C-reactive protein (CRP)
- Erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR)
- Fecal calprotectin (Correct answer)
- Serum albumin
Correct answer: Fecal calprotectin
Fecal calprotectin is released from neutrophils in the inflamed gut mucosa and is the non-invasive biomarker that best correlates with endoscopic disease activity in both Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.
Question 7: In the treat-to-target strategy for IBD, which outcome is considered the primary therapeutic target?
- Symptom control alone
- Mucosal healing (endoscopic remission) (Correct answer)
- Normalization of CRP only
- Elimination of steroid use
Correct answer: Mucosal healing (endoscopic remission)
Treat-to-target in IBD aims for mucosal healing (endoscopic remission) as the primary endpoint, since achieving this correlates with reduced hospitalizations, surgeries, and disease progression compared to symptom control alone.
IBD IBD Disease Monitoring and Activity Assessment 1
Which scoring system is used to assess Crohn's disease activity using parameters such as general well-being, abdominal pain, number of liquid stools, abdominal mass, and complications?