Milan ultrasound criteria are accurate in assessing disease activity in ulcerative colitis: external validation

Introduction The aim of this study was to provide an external validation of bowel ultrasound (US) predictors of activity in ulcerative colitis (UC) and quantitative Milan Ultrasound Criteria (MUC). Methods Forty-three consecutive patients with UC (16 in endoscopic remission and 27 with endoscopic activity) underwent bowel US and colonoscopy in a tertiary referral inflammatory bowel disease unit. Results An MUC score >6.2 discriminated patients with active versus non-active UC with a sensitivity of 0.85 (95% confidence interval (CI) 0.66-0.96), specificity of 0.94 (95% CI 0.70-0.99) and an area under the curve of 0.902 (95% CI 0.772-0.971) in complete agreement with the derivation study. Conclusion The external validation of MUC confirms that it is an accurate tool for assessing disease activity in patients with UC.

Automated summary

The external validation of MUC confirms its accuracy in assessing disease activity in patients with UC. An MUC score >6.2 can effectively distinguish between active and non-active UC patients, with high sensitivity and specificity.