Treat to Target in Inflammatory Bowel Disease: An Updated Review of Literature

Therapeutic management of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) has, for years, been tailored towards monitoring patient clinical presentation as a way to gauge therapeutic management. With the advent of newer biological agents, treatment and management have begun to focus on more objective rather than subjective parameters. These objective parameters include endoscopic targets and focus on the impact of mucosal healing, radiologic and histologic targets, patient reported outcomes, and use of non-invasive biomarkers. However, a recent consensus statement has identified clinical/patient-reported outcome (PRO) remission and endoscopic remission (defined as a Mayo endoscopic subscore of 0–1) as the target for UC with histological remission being an adjunctive goal. For CD, clinical/PRO remission defined as resolution of abdominal pain and diarrhea/altered bowel habit and endoscopic remission, defined as resolution of ulceration at ileocolonoscopy, and resolution of findings of inflammation on cross-sectional imaging in patients who cannot be adequately assessed with ileocolonoscopy were the primary targets. Biomarker remission (normal C-reactive protein (CRP) and calprotectin) was considered as an adjunctive target. This approach requires continuous monitoring and therapeutic adjustments with an aim to achieve the target. This article attempts to review the most updated literature regarding the treat to target approach and thus provides current recommendations and supported evidence.