All explainers
Every published explainer, newest first. Filter by topic or section.
Learning to Live With IBD: What a Cochrane Review Found About Patient Education Programs
A 2023 Cochrane systematic review examined the trial evidence for structured patient education interventions in inflammatory bowel disease, assessing whether programmes delivered by nurses, clinicians, or digital tools affect disease activity, quality of life, and patients' ability to manage their own condition.
Telehealth for IBD: What a Cochrane Review Found About Remote Care
A Cochrane systematic review evaluated whether digital and remote care tools, including apps, telephone follow-up, and web-based monitoring platforms, change outcomes for people living with inflammatory bowel disease. Here is what the evidence found, and why certainty still matters.
After Crohn's Surgery: The Growing Case for Intestinal Ultrasound as a Monitoring Tool
A 2026 international consensus study published in The Lancet Gastroenterology & Hepatology used the RAND/UCLA appropriateness method to evaluate exactly when intestinal ultrasound is appropriate for detecting postoperative Crohn's disease recurrence, drawing on 21 international experts to produce the first structured guidance on this non-invasive monitoring approach.
Urostomy Care: What a 2026 Evidence Synthesis Means for Patients
A June 2026 study in BMC Nursing used a systematic review of evidence and a modified Delphi consensus process with nursing specialists to identify and validate the core components of nursing care for adult patients living with a urostomy.
Coming Home With an Ostomy: What the Evidence Says About the Weeks After Discharge
A 2026 best evidence summary published in the Asia-Pacific Journal of Oncology Nursing reviewed the research on post-discharge follow-up for colorectal cancer patients with a new ostomy, examining which components of structured support in the first weeks at home are backed by published evidence.
Azathioprine and 6-MP for Ulcerative Colitis: A 2025 Cochrane Review on Long-Term Remission
A 2025 Cochrane systematic review synthesises randomised trial evidence on azathioprine and 6-mercaptopurine for maintaining remission in ulcerative colitis. These widely used medications have decades of clinical history, but patients often have questions about what the evidence actually shows and what routine monitoring involves.
When One IBD Treatment Is Not Enough: A 2026 Review on Combining Biologics
A systematic review and meta-analysis pooling 52 studies and 2,022 participants found early safety signals for combining two advanced IBD drugs, but the certainty of evidence is rated very low across all analyses.
Perianal Crohn's Disease Over Twenty Years: What Population-Based Data Reveals About Long-Term Risk
A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis pooled data from population-based cohorts to examine how often perianal complications develop in people with Crohn's disease across a twenty-year follow-up, giving the most rigorous long-term risk picture to date.
Acute Severe Ulcerative Colitis: What the 2026 GETECCU Position Statement Means for Patients
A June 2026 position statement from Spain's IBD working group GETECCU sets out the diagnostic criteria and stepwise treatment pathway for acute severe UC: IV steroids first, rescue therapy if steroids fail, colectomy when rescue therapy is not enough. Here is what patients living with ulcerative colitis should know about this rare but serious complication.
Prebiotics for Ulcerative Colitis: A 2024 Cochrane Review Weighs the Evidence
A 2024 Cochrane systematic review pooled nine randomised controlled trials to assess whether prebiotic fibre supplements can help induce or maintain remission in ulcerative colitis. Across all comparisons, the certainty of evidence was rated very low to low, leaving clinical recommendations for or against prebiotics in UC currently out of reach.
What You Drink and IBD Risk: A 2026 Dose-Response Meta-Analysis Advances the Evidence
A 2026 systematic review and dose-response meta-analysis pooled data across multiple studies to map how different beverage types, from coffee and tea to alcohol and sweetened drinks, relate to the risk of developing inflammatory bowel disease.
Before Your Stoma Reversal: What a Cochrane Review of 9 Trials Found About Wound Closure and Infection Risk
A 2024 Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of nine randomised controlled trials found that purse-string skin closure during stoma reversal cuts the surgical site infection rate to roughly one-fifth of that seen with conventional linear closure — a finding worth discussing with your surgical team.