The status of diagnostic markers for inflammatory bowel disease.

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), which includes ulcerative colitis, Crohn's disease, and indeterminate colitis, is characterized by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract and has a significant impact on quality of life. Coupled with clinical history, physicians rely on invasive tests (e.g. endoscopy and radiologic examinations) to diagnose IBD. Patients with other gastrointestinal illnesses (e.g. irritable bowel syndrome and celiac disease) may present with symptoms similar to those of an IBD patient. Therefore, a need exists for rapid and noninvasive measures to indicate the presence of IBD. The identification of potential biomarkers associated with IBD has expanded rapidly in the past decade. This article reviews the role of recently studied serologic and fecal markers in the diagnosis of IBD, and differentiation between subtypes of IBD.