The use of digital health tools in the management of inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review.

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis, are chronic immune-mediated disorders characterized by a relapsing-remitting course and progressive intestinal damage with a significant impact on patients' quality of life and healthcare system. Traditional care models, based on periodic outpatient checkups, are often insufficient to ensure continuous disease monitoring and timely intervention in the event of a flare-up. In this context, the use of digital health tools represents a potentially innovative strategy to improve clinical and self-management of the disease. The aim of this systematic review is to investigate which digital health tools are currently used to support the management of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

METHODS

This systematic review was conducted and reported in accordance with the PRISMA 2020 guidelines. Searches of PubMed, CINAHL, Web of Science, Scopus, and the Cochrane Library were made covering literature from 2006 to 2025.

RESULTS

Fifteen articles were analyzed, paying attention to the themes of general characteristics, methodological quality, digital health tools utilized, topics of interest of the studies and acceptability and usability.

CONCLUSIONS

DHTs are promising tools for managing chronic conditions such as IBD, but require further refinement and adaptation to population-specific needs.