Efficacy of Therapeutic Intervention for Patients With an Ulcerative Colitis Mayo Endoscopic Score of 1

BACKGROUND: Mucosal healing (MH) is proposed as a therapeutic target for ulcerative colitis (UC). Recent studies have indicated that the rate of clinical relapse in patients with a Mayo endoscopic score (MES) of 1 is higher than that of patients with an MES of 0. However, no study has yet investigated whether therapeutic intervention prevents clinical relapse in patients with an MES of 1. METHODS: Patients with UC with an MES of 1 and partial Mayo score ≤2 were included in this study. All patients were followed from first colonoscopy (CS) until follow-up CS. Differences in the rate of clinical relapse (requiring additional treatment for UC) or endoscopic exacerbation (MES ≥2 and proximal extension) were compared between the therapeutic intervention (immediately after first CS) group and the nontherapeutic intervention group; risk factors for relapse were also assessed. RESULTS: Among 1523 patients with UC who underwent CS between 2013 and 2016, 220 patients were included in this study. The rate of clinical relapse (P = 0.005) and endoscopic exacerbation (P = 0.11) in patients with therapeutic intervention was lower than that in patients without therapeutic intervention. Multivariable analysis indicated that absence of therapeutic intervention (P = 0.001 for clinical relapse, P = 0.050 for endoscopic exacerbation) and a higher Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity vascular pattern score immediately after first CS (P = 0.021 for clinical relapse, P = 0.019 for endoscopic exacerbation) were risk factors for both clinical relapse and endoscopic exacerbation. CONCLUSIONS: Therapeutic intervention for patients with UC with an MES of 1 might prevent disease relapse.