Optimising triage of urgent referrals for suspected IBD: results from the Birmingham IBD inception study

The authors aimed to optimize the triage process for urgent referrals of suspected inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) by evaluating the effectiveness of combining clinical history and faecal calprotectin (FCP) measurements for early diagnosis. Their findings indicate that serial FCP testing can reduce unnecessary colonoscopies, with specific thresholds for FCP levels providing a reliable method for directing patients to appropriate care pathways. Ultimately, the study suggests that integrating home FCP testing with symptom assessment could enhance self-referral processes for IBD diagnosis.