IBD facts

Your healthcare team will have to perform certain investigations (tests) to decide what type of inflammatory bowel disease you are suffering from and to check on the progress of your disease.

Blood tests: these help to confirm the presence of inflammatory bowel disease and are used to check for anaemia, for protein (low levels of certain proteins suggest severe ulceration; high levels suggest inflammation) and for an imbalance of salt and water because of diarrhoea.

Stool tests: a flare-up may be due to infection; this can be confirmed by looking for bacteria in the stool.

X-ray examination: this will show which part of your bowel is affected and how active the disease is.

Sigmoidoscopy: this technique uses an instrument called a sigmoidoscope to see into your rectum. It enables the doctor to examine the walls of the large intestine and to take small pieces of tissue, called biopsies, to examine under the microscope.

Colonoscopy: a colonoscope is longer and more flexible than a sigmoidoscope. It is used to see further along the colon.

White blood cell scan: used to visualise the severity and extent of the inflammation.

Ultrasound scan: used to detect complications involving the liver and gall bladder in Crohn's disease.

Hydrogen breath test: an increased amount of hydrogen suggests a build-up of bacteria in the intestine.

Computerised tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) scanning: used to visualise the organs in the abdomen and highlight any complications of Crohn's disease.

Malabsorption studies: certain nutrients may be absorbed poorly or not at all in Crohn's disease. These tests measure the amount of a substance in the urine to give an idea of how efficient your body is at absorbing the substance.

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