Lee Kang Moon
Division of Gastroenterology, Department of Internal Medicine, St. Vincent's Hospital, College of Medicine, The Catholic University of Korea, Suwon, Korea.
Korean J Gastroenterol. 2018 Feb 25;71(2):69-73. doi: 10.4166/kjg.2018.71.2.69.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic, idiopathic inflammatory disease of gastrointestinal tract with waxing and waning clinical course, which may lead to irreversible bowel damage and a loss of bowel function. Cumulative intestinal damage results in complications such as stricture or fistulae, and eventually a large number of IBD patients undergo surgery. Notably, even during remission period (no clinical symptoms), subclinical inflammation often persists and the disease continues to progress. Therefore, the therapeutic target of IBD has been evolving from symptomatic control to mucosal healing to prevent structural intestinal damage. To achieve therapeutic goals in IBD, it is important to optimize therapy according to disease severity and response to treatment. Therefore, monitoring disease activity is recommended throughout the disease course of IBD. Especially strategies to monitor disease beyond symptoms through endoscopy, laboratory markers, and imaging is required.
炎症性肠病（IBD）是一种胃肠道的慢性特发性炎症性疾病，临床病程呈反复波动，可导致不可逆的肠道损伤和肠道功能丧失。累积的肠道损伤会引发诸如狭窄或瘘管等并发症，最终大量IBD患者需要接受手术。值得注意的是，即使在缓解期（无临床症状），亚临床炎症通常仍会持续，疾病也会继续进展。因此，IBD的治疗目标已从症状控制逐渐转变为黏膜愈合，以预防肠道结构损伤。为了在IBD中实现治疗目标，根据疾病严重程度和治疗反应优化治疗方案非常重要。因此，建议在IBD的整个病程中监测疾病活动。特别是需要通过内镜检查、实验室指标和影像学检查等手段来监测疾病，而不仅仅是依靠症状。
