Cut-off value of ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS) score for predicting the need for pouch construction in ulcerative colitis: results of a multicenter study with long-term follow-up

Background Total proctocolectomy with ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) was the first choice for the surgical treatment of the ulcerative colitis (UC) patients. The data on the predictive value of the ulcerative colitis endoscopic index of severity (UCEIS) for the need for IPAA in UC patients is scarce. We aimed to establish the UCEIS cut-off value to further analyse whether the UCEIS cut-off was suitable for predicting the need for IPAA in UC patients. Methods The clinical data of UC patients from June 1986 to March 2020 at our institute were retrospectively assessed. The UCEIS scores recorded at the time of the first colonoscopy after hospitalization were used in the study. Receiver operating characteristic curve analysis was performed to determine the UCEIS cut-off value for predicting the need for IPAA. Results A total of 283 UC patients were included in the study, with a median UCEIS of 4. During a median follow-up of 13 years, 80 patients (28.3%) received surgery invention, among whom 75 (93.8%) underwent IPAA surgery and 5 (6.2%) received subtotal colectomy with permanent ostomy. A UCEIS cut-off of 6 had the most significant area under the curve of 0.769 for predicting the need for IPAA (P < 0.001), with a sensitivity of 72.0% and specificity of 81.8%. UCEIS >= 6 was an independent predictive factor for the need for IPAA (P < 0.001) and malignant transformation (P = 0.010). Patients with UCEIS >= 6 had a significantly shorter IPAA-free survival time than those with UCEIS <6 (P < 0.001). Conclusions UCEIS >= 6 may be a threshold value for decision-making for IPAA and should be recommended for UC patients for reducing the incidence of malignant transformation.