Media release

From: QIMR Berghofer Medical Research Institute

A 28-year study on the serious inflammatory bowel disease, acute severe ulcerative colitis (UC) has resulted in an innovative artificial intelligence tool called the Risk of Rescue (ROR) score. This tool can quickly predict whether the standard treatment—intravenous steroids—will work for patients with acute severe UC, which requires emergency hospital care.

The ROR score is unique because it provides a more accurate prediction of a patient's likely response to treatment soon after their arrival to hospital without the use of invasive procedures like endoscopy. This means that doctors can make treatment decisions early in their hospital stay. The goal is to improve and personalise patient care, reduce the need for major surgeries like bowel removal, and shorten hospital stays. Researchers plan to test this tool further in a clinical trial to see how well it works in clinical practice.

Web link for clinicians to access the ROR score: www.severecolitis.com

Journal article: ROR Acute ulcerative colitis tool Alimentary Pharmacology and Therapeutics. https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/apt.18190