Going deeper: molecular inflammatory scores in IBD

The management of IBD is evolving. Not long ago, symptomatic relief, or 'clinical remission' was the major treatment goal-if not the only goal-for most patients. However, the disconnect between inflammation and symptoms has been long recognised, and there is now abundant evidence that patients with silent inflammation, unsurprisingly, develop more disease-related complications than those with inactive disease.1 For this reason, current IBD management usually involves a 'treat-to-target' approach-a concept borrowed from rheumatology2-where objective measures of inflammation are used to ensure that treatment leads to resolution of inflammation as well as of symptoms.3 © Author(s) (or their employer(s)) 2022. No commercial re-use. See rights and permissions. Published by BMJ.