Objective:

To examine the relationship between serological markers and endoscopic mucosal healing and inflammation in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients.

Approach:

• Patient Selection: Retrospective analysis of clinical data from 200 IBD patients (91 with ulcerative colitis [UC] and 109 with Crohn’s disease [CD]) and 100 healthy controls.
• Assessment Methods: Utilized Mayo Endoscopic Score (MES) for UC and Simplified Endoscopic Score for Crohn’s Disease (SES-CD) for CD to categorize patients into inactive and active groups.
• Biomarker Analysis: Compared levels of CRP, TNF-α, ESR, PLT, and ALB between IBD patients and controls, and assessed predictive efficacy using ROC curves.
• Correlation Analysis: Conducted Spearman correlation analysis to evaluate the relationship between serological markers and disease inflammation.

Key Findings:

• CRP, TNF-α, ESR, and PLT levels were significantly elevated (p < 0.05), while ALB levels were reduced in both UC and CD groups compared to controls.
• Inactive patients had lower CRP, TNF-α, ESR, and PLT levels, and higher ALB levels compared to active patients (p < 0.05).
• AUCs for assessing mucosal healing in UC were 0.825 for CRP, 0.712 for TNF-α, 0.810 for ESR, 0.770 for PLT, and 0.769 for ALB, with a combined AUC of 0.922.
• For CD patients, AUCs were 0.805 for CRP, 0.738 for TNF-α, 0.763 for ESR, 0.804 for PLT, and 0.723 for ALB, with a combined AUC of 0.904.
• CRP, TNF-α, ESR, and PLT levels were positively correlated with disease inflammation, while ALB was negatively correlated.

Interpretation:

Serum levels of CRP, TNF-α, ALB, ESR, and PLT are associated with mucosal healing and inflammation in IBD.

Limitations:

• Retrospective design may introduce selection bias.
• Limited generalizability due to single-center study.
• Potential confounding factors not accounted for.

Conclusion:

Serological markers may serve as biomarkers for mucosal healing and inflammation in IBD patients.