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Dr Charles Bernstein and colleagues report on the World Gastroenterology Organization Practice Guidelines for the Diagnosis and Management of IBD in 2010.
Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) represents a group of idiopathic, chronic, inflammatory intestinal conditions.
Its 2 main disease categories include Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, which feature both overlapping and distinct clinical and pathological features.
 | | Therapy varies depending on the phenotype of the disease | | Inflammatory Bowel Disease |
While these diseases have, in the past, been most evident in the developed world, their prevalence in the developing world has been gradually increasing in recent decades.
The team report that this poses unique issues in diagnosis and management that have been scarcely addressed in the literature or in extant guidelines.
Depending on the nature of the complaints, the team observe that investigations to diagnose either form of IBD or to assess disease activity will vary.
In addition, the team noted that investigations to diagnose and assess disease activity will also be influenced by geographic variations in other conditions that might mimic IBD.
Similarly, therapy varies depending on the phenotype of the disease being treated and available resources.
Dr Bernstein's team commented, "The World Gastroenterology Organization has, accordingly, developed guidelines for diagnosing and treating IBD using a cascade approach to account for variability in resources in countries around the world."
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