Advanced Endoscopic Imaging for Assessing Mucosal Healing and Histologic Remission in Inflammatory Bowel Diseases

Abstract

Recent advances in the field of endoscopy have found fertile ground for application in inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). Mucosal healing is a primary goal of IBD therapy, and current evidence shows that histologic remission (HR) is an additional desirable outcome. However, with the use of standard endoscopy, a considerable number of patients with histologically active disease go unrecognized. This narrative article examines the role, current or potential, of each endoscopic technique, from standard white-light endoscopy to molecular imaging, in the assessment of mucosal healing and HR in IBD.

Keywords: Artificial intelligence; Chromoendoscopy; Confocal laser endomicroscopy; Endocytoscopy; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Molecular imaging.