OBJECTIVE: The combination of clinical remission and mucosal healing represents 
a major goal of different treatment strategies for ulcerative colitis (UC). This 
study aimed to assess which of the endoscopic indices used to evaluate mucosal 
changes in UC are correlated with clinical indices currently used to determine 
disease activity, as well as which of the endoscopic indices are correlated with 
the Geboes Index used for histological evaluation. It also aimed to find 
correlations between the currently used clinical activity indices and the 
histological Geboes Index.
METHODS: A group of 49 patients with a confirmed diagnosis of UC and a group of 
52 individuals without a diagnosis of gastrointestinal disease, who constituted 
the control group, were investigated. All patients were evaluated by 
colonoscopy, and the severity of mucosal changes was scored in terms of nine 
different endoscopic indices commonly used in both pharmacological trials and 
clinical practice. Evaluation was also carried out using clinical and 
histological indices. Endoscopic indices used for UC were then correlated with 
different clinical and histological indices to find the strongest correlations.
RESULTS AND CONCLUSION: A high correlation was demonstrated between three of the 
11 evaluated clinical indices - Improvement Based on Individual Symptom Scores, 
Ulcerative Colitis Disease Activity Index, and Schroeder Index - and all nine 
endoscopic indices - Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of Severity, Baron 
Score, Schroeder Index, Feagan Index, Powell-Tuck Index, Rachmilewitz Index, 
Sutherland Index, Lofberg Index, and Lemman Index. Improvement Based on 
Individual Symptom Scores was the index with the highest correlation with all 
the endoscopic indices used for UC. The above indices are recommended for 
clinical evaluation of UC activity. The Ulcerative Colitis Endoscopic Index of 
Severity was moderately correlated with a histological index, and it is 
therefore recommended for routine endoscopic mucosal evaluation in patients with 
UC.