Key Points:
- An artificial intelligence (AI)-assisted image-enhanced endoscopy system was found to accurately assess vascular healing in patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and predict long-term clinical relapse.
- The AI system could predict clinical relapse with significant accuracy: 3% relapse in patients identified as having complete vascular healing compared to 23.9% in those with vascular activity.
- Even among patients with a Mayo Endoscopic Score (MES) ≤ 1, indicating mild disease, the AI system effectively distinguished between those with and without vascular healing, correlating this with varying relapse rates.
- The study reinforces the crucial role of early and precise intervention in UC management, emphasizing the significance of controlling inflammation right after diagnosis.