Tech #4015: The Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI)

The Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI) is a rigorously developed, multi-item tool for measuring disease activity in children with ulcerative colitis. As a non-invasive alternative to colonoscopy and laboratory testing, it enables reliable clinical and research assessment while aligning closely with established adult disease scoring systems.

Technology Reference Number

#4015

Inventors

Anne Griffiths, The Hospital for Sick Children

Dan Turner,  The Hospital for Sick Children

Anthony Otley, Dalhousie University

IP&C Contact

Karin Aguilar, Business Development Associate

Therapeutic Area

Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis

Category

Health Outcome Measure

Keywords

PUCAI, pediatric ulcerative colitis, disease activity index, non-invasive assessment, clinical assessment tool, disease severity scoring, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), clinical research endpoints

Invention Description

Ulcerative colitis is an inflammatory disease of the large intestine (colon) evolving the inner mucosal lining, typically consisting of fine ulcerations on the surface, with infiltration by special types of inflammatory white blood cells. Two key characteristics of ulcerative colitis are that the inflammation does not penetrate beyond the inner mucosal lining to the outer muscle coat and begins at the lower end of the colon, just above the anus and can extend continuously upwards into the rest of the colon to variable distances. In some patients, only a short distance is affected and in others, the inflammation travels much farther along the colon, right up to the point it meets the small intestine.

The Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI) is the first rigorously developed and validated multi-item measure of disease activity in pediatric patients with ulcerative colitis. It is non-invasive, requiring neither colonoscopy nor blood testing for completion, and hence will be very desirable for use as a primary outcome measure in clinical trials in pediatric ulcerative colitis. It correlates well with the most employed UC activity index, used in adult patients (the Mayo score), which requires colonoscopic assessment.

Advantages

  • The PUCAI can be used to assess disease activity in pediatric ulcerative colitis for research and clinical endeavors.
  • It has been validated in adult patients with ulcerative colitis.
  • It is available in multiple languages.

Additional Information

Publication doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2007.05.029

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