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Empty consultation room with a round table, two chairs, and a closed printed booklet and pen, soft violet ambient light from a frosted glass window, white walls, pale polished floor, no people, no text

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 18 June 2026

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.

A quiet, empty consultation desk with a glass of water and a small sealed medication box, soft violet ambient light from a side window, no people, no text, calm clinical setting

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 17 June 2026

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.

A quiet, empty ultrasound examination room: a pale clinic floor, a parked ultrasound cart at left with its curved-array probe resting in its cradle, a small wall-mounted monitor showing a soft abstract grey-scale gradient with no readable text, a neatly drawn light curtain on a rail, soft violet ambient light from a high window, no people, no signage

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 16 June 2026

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.

A quiet pharmacy counter at dawn: a single closed white blister pack of unlabeled tablets resting flat on a white surface, soft violet ambient light from frosted glass window, no people, no text visible

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 14 June 2026

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.

Empty hospital corridor with a medication cabinet along the wall, soft violet ambient light from frosted windows, polished floor, no people, no text visible

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 13 June 2026

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.

Empty hospital consultation room with a clean white desk near a tall frosted window, small amber glass pill bottle resting on the desk surface, soft violet ambient light diffused through frosted glass, no people

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 7 June 2026

Vitamin D and IBD: What a Cochrane Review of 22 Trials Found — and What Remains Uncertain

A 2023 Cochrane systematic review examined 22 randomised controlled trials with 1,874 participants living with IBD. The review found a possible reduction in clinical relapse with vitamin D supplementation — but rates certainty of evidence as low, and cannot yet draw conclusions on quality of life or disease response.

Empty psychotherapy consultation room with two upholstered chairs facing each other, soft violet ambient light through frosted windows, no people

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 6 June 2026

Psychological Support for IBD: What a Cochrane Review of 68 Studies Shows About Therapy, Education, and Relaxation

A 2025 Cochrane systematic review and meta-analysis of 68 randomised trials found that psychotherapy, patient education, and relaxation techniques each produce small but meaningful improvements in quality of life, depression, and anxiety for adults living with inflammatory bowel disease.

An empty, calm consultation corner at a clinic in soft morning light: a clean pale-wood desk by a frosted-glass window, a closed patient-information leaflet and a glass of water on its surface, a small softly out-of-focus green plant to one side, cream walls washed with gentle violet-tinted ambient light — no people, no text.

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 4 June 2026

Does cannabis help inflammatory bowel disease? What a June 2026 systematic review of THC actually found

Cannabis is one of the most widely used self-treatments among people with IBD, but a new systematic review built to Cochrane standards found that THC-containing cannabis showed no effect on remission or endoscopic healing — only low-certainty signals for bloating and appetite — and concluded that the overall evidence remains inconclusive.

A quiet, depopulated domestic recovery corner by a tall window in soft early-morning light: a comfortable oatmeal upholstered armchair with a folded knitted throw blanket over one arm, a low side table holding a plain ceramic cup and a small leafy houseplant, sheer linen curtains diffusing the light, deep indigo and lavender tones carried only by the ambient light and shadows — no people, no medical equipment, no text.

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 30 May 2026

Life after pelvic exenteration: what a 2026 systematic review of 23 studies says about quality of life, body image, and living with a stoma

Pelvic exenteration is one of the most radical operations in gynaecological cancer care, and it usually leaves a person with one or two stomas. A 2026 systematic review brought together 23 studies (1,655 patients) on quality of life afterward. The honest picture: overall quality of life often stabilised or recovered beyond six months, but sexual function, body image — frequently tied to stoma formation — and psychological distress commonly stayed worse. No randomized trials existed and most studies carried a serious risk of bias, so this is a careful synthesis of observational evidence, not proof of cause.

A quiet, empty pre-operative consultation room at first light: two simple wooden chairs angled toward each other across a small table holding a closed cardboard folder and a glass of water, a tall sheer-curtained window letting in soft dawn light, a faint violet ambient glow on the far wall and concrete floor — no people, no signage.

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 30 May 2026

When the tumour sits very low: what a 2026 review says about sphincter-preserving surgery for rectal cancer

For rectal cancers very close to the anus, the hardest surgical question is whether the muscle that gives you control — the sphincter — can be kept, or whether removing it (and living with a permanent colostomy) is the safer way to clear the cancer. A 2026 narrative review surveys six sphincter-preserving techniques: most reach acceptable cancer-control outcomes, but bowel function afterwards stays the main concern, and the newest method rests on small studies. This is a survey of options, not a ranking — and the right answer is individual.

A quiet, empty endoscopy procedure room: a clean examination couch with a fresh paper sheet, a parked endoscopy tower at left with a coiled scope resting in its holder, a wall-mounted monitor showing a soft abstract grey-scale gradient (no readable image, no text), a covered steel trolley with a small jug of water, soft violet ambient light from a frosted window — no people, no signage.

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 29 May 2026

Does filling the colon with water make colonoscopy easier? What a 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis of 30 trials actually found

Water infusion — filling the colon with warm water instead of air or CO2 — has been studied as a gentler way to do a colonoscopy. A 2026 systematic review and meta-analysis pooled 30 randomized trials: it found no difference in adenoma detection, reaching the cecum, or procedure time, but fewer people needed on-demand sedation (risk ratio 0.61) or abdominal pressing (risk ratio 0.65). A comfort finding, not a detection upgrade — and whether it's offered depends on your endoscopy unit.

A quiet, depopulated ENT examination corner at first light: an otoscope on folded white linen beside a chrome instrument tray with a tongue depressor and nasal speculum, a closed audiometry chart leaning against a cream wall, soft violet pre-dawn light from a frosted window, no people.

Sourced explainer· Reviewed 28 May 2026

Ear, nose and throat signs in IBD: what a 2026 systematic review actually documents

Joints, eyes and skin are the extraintestinal manifestations of inflammatory bowel disease that most people have heard of. A 2026 systematic review pulls together the ear, nose and throat side of the picture — uncommon, mostly documented in small case series, but consistent enough that the authors think clinicians should be looking.

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