Intestinal Research

Original Article

Clinical spectrum of acute severe ulcerative colitis in the biologic era: a prospective cohort study from India: Arshdeep Singh, Mayur Luthra, Arshia Bhardwaj, Ramit Mahajan, Riya Sharma, Dharmatma Singh, Devanshi Jain, Omesh Goyal, Varun Mehta, Kirandeep Kaur, Yogesh Kumar Gupta, Vandana Midha, Ajit Sood; Received November 18, 2024 Accepted March 4, 2025 Published online June 9, 2025; DOI: https://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2024.00189 [Epub ahead of print]

Abstract PDF Supplementary Material PubReader ePub: Background/Aims
Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is a time-critical situation requiring urgent intervention. Limited data exist on the evolving clinical spectrum of ASUC in the era of advanced therapies.
Methods
This prospective real-world observational cohort study included 145 adult patients hospitalized with ASUC between January 2020 and June 2024. ASUC was defined by the modified Truelove and Witts criteria. Demographics and disease characteristics, including disease severity, probable precipitating factors, and corticosteroid failure rates, were recorded.
Results
The median age of patients was 36 years (interquartile range, 26–48.5 years) with 63 females (43.4%). Most patients had left-sided colitis (53.1%). The median disease duration was 1 year (IQR, 0.5–3 years), with 91 patients (62.7%) presenting with ASUC within the first year of diagnosis of ulcerative colitis. One-third of the patients had previous exposure to biologics and small molecules. The most commonly reported probable precipitants of ASUC were poor compliance with treatment (n = 43, 29.6%), antibiotic use (n = 35, 24.1%), high perceived stress (n = 32, 22.1%), and Clostridioides difficile infection (n = 19, 13.1%). Forty patients (27.5%) were non-responders to intravenous corticosteroids (IVCS). Twenty-nine patients (20%) received medical rescue therapy (infliximab, n = 14 [48.27%], cyclosporine A, n = 6 [20.68%], and tofacitinib, n = 9 [31.03%]). Seven patients (4.82%; 4 after non-response to IVCS and 3 after non-response to medical rescue therapy) underwent colectomy.
Conclusions
In this cohort of ASUC patients, poor treatment compliance, antibiotic use, stress, and C. difficile infection were common precipitants of flare-ups. Nearly one-third of patients required medical rescue therapy, and a small proportion ultimately underwent colectomy.

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