Diagnosis and Differentiation of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The diagnosis and differentiation of IBD involve an evaluation that combines the patient's clinical symptoms, physical examination, laboratory tests, imaging studies, endoscopic features, and histopathology. Given the diagnostic challenges, multidisciplinary discussions are often employed in the form of multidisciplinary IBD conferences. A team that includes IBD-focused gastroenterologists, colorectal surgeons, radiologists, GI pathologists, and other allied health care specialists including IBD nurse specialists, enterostomal therapists, dieticians, and psychologists is ideal. In the United Kingdom, the IBD Standards note the importance of a multidisciplinary care team that meets regularly to discuss patients, including those with new diagnosis of IBD.57 Although there is no requirement for a multidisciplinary IBD team in the United States, previous research on multidisciplinary teams for patients with cancer has demonstrated costeffectiveness, improved patient outcomes, and increased compliance with treatment guidelines.58 A timely and accurate diagnosis of IBD is essential for offering appropriate treatments and pursuing the best possible clinical outcomes for patients.