L. Kupcinskas, P.L. Lakatos, G.J. Mantzaris, S. Schreiber,
ren
Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO)
; accepted 23 November 2007
ava i l ab l e a t www.sc i enced i rec t . com
Journal of Crohn's and Colitis (2008) 2, 1–23
Diagnosis;
Histopathology;
Classification;
Activity indices
Contents
1. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
1.2. Definitions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.1. Distribution of disease (see Section 2.1) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.2. Active disease. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
1.2.3. Remission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.4. Response. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.5. Relapse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.6. Early relapse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.7. Pattern of relapse . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
for the European
Received 23 November 2007
KEYWORDS
Ulcerative colitis;
Definitions;
V. Villanacci, B.F. War
SPECIAL ARTICLE
European evidence-based Consensus on the
diagnosis and management of ulcerative colitis:
Definitions and diagnosis
E.F. Stange ⁎,1, S.P.L. Travis ⁎,1, S. Vermeire, W. Reinisch, K. Geboes,
A. Barakauskiene, R. Feakins, J.F. Fléjou, H. Herfarth, D.W. Hommes,
⁎ Corresponding authors. Travis is to be contacted at John Radcliffe Hospital, Oxford, OX3 9DU, UK. Tel.: +44 1865 228753; fax: +44 1865
228763. Stange, Department of Internal Medicine 1, Robert Bosch Krankenhaus, PO Box 501120, Auerbachstr, 110, 70341 Stuttgart, Germany.
Tel.: +49 711 81013404; fax: +49 711 81013793.
E-mail addresses: Eduard.Stange@rbk.de (E.F. Stange), simon.travis@ndm.ox.ac.uk (S.P.L. Travis).
1 These authors acted as convenors of the Consensus and contributed equally to the work.
1873-9946/$ - see front matter © 2007 European Crohn's and Colitis Organisation. Published by Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.
doi:10.1016/j.crohns.2007.11.001
2 E.F. Stange et al.
1.2.8. Steroid-refractory colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.9. Steroid-dependent colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
1.2.10. Immunomodulator-refractory colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.11. Refractory distal colitis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.12. New patient . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.13. Alternative therapy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.14. Complementary therapies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.15. Expert opinion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2. Classification . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1. Classification according to disease extent . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.2. Classification according to disease severity. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.1. Activity and pattern of disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.2. Choice of index. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.3. Clinical and laboratory markers of severity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.2.4. Remission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.3. Classification according to age at onset or concomitant primary sclerosing cholangitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4. Use of molecular markers. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4.1. Serology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.4.2. Genotyping . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3. Diagnosis and imaging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2. Clinical features and risk factors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2.1. Clinical features of ulcerative colitis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
3.2.2. Risk factors for ulcerative colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3. History, examination and diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3.1. Medical history . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3.2. Examination. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
3.3.3. Diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4. Investigation and procedures to establish a diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4.1. Initial investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4.2. Microbial investigations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
3.4.3. Biomarkers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.4.4. Procedures recommended to establish the diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.5. Assessment of extent, severity and activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.5.1. Signs of discontinuous inflammation in ulcerative colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
3.5.2. Activity indices in ulcerative colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.5.3. Investigations for acute severe colitis on admission . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.5.4. Reassessment of extent and severity of ulcerative colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6. Endoscopy, ultrasound and colonography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6.1. Endoscopic features of ulcerative colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3.6.2. Abdominal ultrasound and scintigraphy in ulcerative colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.6.3. Virtual colonography in ulcerative colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
3.7. Colonic stenosis in ulcerative colitis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4. Histopathology . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.1. General . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.1.1. Considerations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.1.2. Evaluation of the literature . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
4.2. Microscopic features — definitions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.2.1. Crypt architectural abnormalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.2.2. Epithelial cell abnormalities . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.2.3. Inflammatory features . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
4.3. Microscopic features — appraisal of the diagnosis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.3.1. Early stage disease . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
4.3.2. Established disease. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
4.4. Microscopic features — disease activity . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
4.5. Conclusions. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Acknowledgement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Contributors . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Acknowledgement. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.2.10. Immunomodulator-refractory colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.11. Refractory distal colitis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.12. New patient. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.13. Alternative theraphy. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.14. Complementary therapies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
1.2.15. Expert opinion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
therapy to cure the disease is not yet available. Within Europe
2. In parallel, the working parties performed a systematic
literature search of their topic with the appropriate key
words using Medline/Pubmed and the Cochrane database,
as well as their own files. The evidence level (EL) was
graded (Table 1.1) according to the Oxford Centre for
Evidence Based Medicine.8
3. Provisional guideline statements on their topic were then
written by the chairmen, based on answers to the question-
naire as well as the literature evidence and were circulated
Table 1.1 Levels of evidence and grades of recommendation
based on the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine (for
details see http://www.cebm.net/levels_of_evidence.
asp#refs)
Level Diagnostic study Therapeutic study
1a Systematic review (SR)
with homogeneity of level
1 diagnostic studies
Systematic review (SR)
with homogeneity of
randomized controlled
trials (RCTs)
1b Validating cohort study
with good reference
standards
Individual RCT (with
narrow Confidence
Interval)
1c Specificity is so high that a
positive result rules in the
diagnosis (“SpPin”) or
sensitivity is so high that a
negative result rules out
the diagnosis (“SnNout”)
All or none
2a SR with homogeneity of
level N2 diagnostic studies
SR (with homogeneity )
of cohort studies
2b Exploratory cohort study
with good reference
standards
Individual cohort study
(including low quality
RCT; e.g., b80%
follow up)
2c “Outcomes” research;
ecological studies
3a SR with homogeneity of 3b
and better studies
SR with homogeneity of
case-control studies
3b Non-consecutive study; or
without consistently
applied reference
standards
Individual case-control
study
4 Case-control study, poor
or non-independent
reference standard
Case-series (and poor
quality cohort and case-
control studies)
5 Expert opinion without
explicit critical appraisal,
or based on physiology,
bench research or “first
principles”
Expert opinion without
explicit critical appraisal,
or based on physiology,
bench research or “first
principles”
3ECCO Consensus on UC: Definitions and diagnosis
there is a North–South gradient, but the incidence appears to
have increased in Southern and developing countries in recent
years.1,2 Patients may live with a considerable symptom
burden despite medical treatment (66% describe interference
with work and 73%with leisure activities3) in the hope that the
aetiology of ulcerative colitis will shortly be revealed and a
cure emerges. Although this is conceivable in the next decade,
clinicians have to advise patients on the basis of information
available today. Despite randomized trials there will always be
many questions that can only be answered by the exercise of
judgement and opinion. This leads to differences in practice
between clinicians, which may be brought into sharp relief by
differences in emphasis between countries.
The Consensus endeavours to address these differences. The
Consensus is not meant to supersede the guidelines of different
countries (such as those from theUK,4 or Germany5), which reach
broadly the same conclusions since they are, after all, based on
the sameevidence.Rather, theaimof theConsensus is topromote
a European perspective on the management of ulcerative colitis
(UC) and its dilemmas. Since the development of guidelines is an
expensive and time-consuming process, it may help to avoid
duplication of effort in the future. A European Consensus is also
considered important because an increasing number of thera-
peutic trials recruit from Central and Eastern European countries
where practice guidelines have yet to be published.
This document sets out the current European Consensus on
the diagnosis andmanagement of UC, reached by the European
Crohn's and Colitis Organisation (ECCO) at a meeting held in
Berlin on 20th October 2006. ECCO is a forum for specialists in
inflammatory bowel disease from 23 European countries. Like
the initial Consensus on the management of Crohn's disease,6
the current Consensus is grouped into three parts: definitions
and diagnosis; current management; and management of
special situations. This first section concerns aims, methods
and definitions of the Consensus, as well as classification,
diagnosis, imaging and pathology of UC. The second section on
current management includes treatment of active disease,
maintenance ofmedically-induced remission and surgery ofUC.
The third section on special situations includes pouch disorders,
cancer surveillance, pregnancy, paediatrics, psychosomatics,
extra-intestinal manifestations and alternative therapy.
The strategy to reach the Consensus involved five steps:
1. Relevant questions on each of 14 separate topics concern-
ing diagnosis and treatment of UC were devised by the
chairmen and their working party. The questions were
focused on current practice and areas of controversy in the
task force topic, sent around to the other chairmen to avoid
duplication, and then to all 59 participants in the Consensus
conference. Participants were asked to answer the ques-
tions basedon their experienceaswell as evidence from the
literature (Delphi procedure).7
1. Definitions
1.1. Introduction
Ulcerative colitis is a life long disease arising from an
interaction between genetic and environmental factors, but
observed predominantly in the developed countries of the
world. The precise aetiology is unknownand thereforemedical
Grades of recommendation
A Consistent level 1 studies
B Consistent level 2 or 3 studies or extrapolations from
level 1 studies
C Level 4 studies or extrapolations from level 2 or 3
studies
D Level 5 evidence or troublingly inconsistent or
inconclusive studies of any level
first among the working party and then among the
participants.
4. The working parties then met in Berlin on the 20 October
2006 to agree the statements. Participants gathered under
the Chairmanship of EF Stange and SPL Travis to agree the
final version of each guideline statement. Technically this
was donebyprojecting the statements and revising themon
screen until a Consensus was reached. Consensus was
defined as agreement by N80% of participants, termed a
Consensus Statement and numbered for convenience in the
document. Each recommendation was graded (RG) accord-
ing to the Oxford Centre for Evidence Based Medicine,8
based on the level of evidence (Table 1.1).
of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease.10,11 It has distinct
Table 1.3 Disease activity in ulcerative colitis, adapted
from Truelove and Witts'13
Mild Moderate ‘in
between
mild and
severe’
Severe
Bloody stools/day b4 4 or more if ≥6 and
Pulse b90 bpm ≤90 bpm N90 bpm or
Temperature b37.5 °C ≤37.8 °C N37.8 °C or
Haemoglobin N11.5 g/dL ≥10.5 g/dL b10.5 g/dL or
ESR b20 mm/h ≤30 mm/h N30 mm/h or
or CRP Normal ≤30 mg/L N30 mg/L
Table 1.4 Mayo score [14,15 and www.gastrojournal.org for
full details]
Mayo
index
0 1 2 3
Stool
frequency
Normal 1–2/day
Nnormal
3–4/day
Nnormal
5/day
Nnormal
Rectal
bleeding
None Streaks Obvious Mostly blood
Mucosa Normal Mild
friability
Moderate
friability
Spontaneous
bleeding
Physician's
global
assessment
Normal Mild Moderate Severe
4 E.F. Stange et al.
5. The final document on each topic was written by the
chairmen in conjunction with their working party. Con-
sensus guideline statements in bold are followed by
comments on the evidence and opinion. Statements are
intended to be read in context with qualifying comments
and not read in isolation. The final text was edited for
consistency of style by SPLTravis and EF Stangebeforebeing
circulated and approved by the participants. In some areas
the level of evidence is generally low, which reflects the
paucity of randomized controlled trials. Consequently
expert opinion is included where appropriate.
1.2. Definitions
Common agreement has been reached by ECCO about
frequently used terms. While the significance of some terms
(such as ‘early-’ or ‘pattern of relapse’) is undetermined, such
terms reflect clinical decision-making (such as when to start
immunomodulators) and are considered helpful as a conse-
quence. The arbitrariness of some of the definitions is
recognised, but the Consensus considers it useful to agree the
terminology.
Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory condition
causing continuous mucosal inflammation of the colon with-
out granulomas on biopsy, affecting the rectum and a variable
extent of the colon in continuity, which is characterised by a
relapsing and remitting course.9
Colitis yet to be classified is the term best suited for the
minority of cases where a definitive distinction between UC,
Crohn's disease, or other cause of colitis cannot be made
after the history, endoscopic appearances, histopathology of
multiple mucosal biopsies and appropriate radiology have
been taken into account.9,10
Indeterminate colitis is a termpreserved for pathologists to
describe a colecto