Inflammatory bowel disease. Colonoscopic aids in diagnosis and management

Colonoscopy provides the patient with a new approach to the diagnosis and management of inflammatory bowel disease. Endoscopy should be used only when certain specific indications arise. Care must be exercised during passage of the instrument. Attention to mucosal details, as well as the use of biopsy and of endoscopic criteria, allow a greater diagnostic accuracy than may be achieved by the clinician or the radiologist.