Effect of Follow-Up Endoscopy on the Outcomes of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Little is known about the role of follow-up endoscopy in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The present study aimed to evaluate whether repeated endoscopies would be beneficial in improving outcomes of patients with IBD. Patients who had been initially confirmed to have IBD at two tertiary hospitals in Korea were regularly followed and included in this study. The clinical impact as assessed by the presence or absence of a change in management after endoscopy and cumulative hospitalization rate was compared between two groups classified according to the presence or absence of indications. A total of 188 patients with IBD were enrolled [69 patients with Crohn’s disease (CD) and 119 with ulcerative colitis (UC)]. Of these patients, 130 underwent follow-up endoscopy (48 with CD and 82 with UC). The rate of management change was significantly higher in the group with indications for follow-up endoscopy (p = 0.001 in CD and