Kane et al developed a simple score for identifying patients who may have microscopic colitis. This can help to identify a group of patients who may benefit from a diagnostic workup. The authors are from St. James's University Hospital in Leeds and the University of Leeds.
Patient selection: possible microscopic colitis
Parameters:
(1) gender
(2) age in years
(3) proton pump inhibitor (PPI) therapy
(4) NSAID therapy
(5) weight loss
(6) abdominal pain
Parameter
Finding
Points
gender
male
0
female
4
age in years
< 50 years
0
>= 50 years
13
PPI therapy
no
0
yes
6
NSAID therapy
no
0
yes
11
weight loss
no
0
yes
4
abdominal pain
no
0
yes
-8
total score =
= SUM(points for all 6 parameters)
Interpretation:
• minimum score: -8
• maximum score: 38
• The higher the score the greater the risk of the patient having microscopic colitis.
• A score >= 4 is sensitive (95-99%) but not very specific (33-37%). The goal with this score is not to miss any cases. A score < 4 had a 97-99% negative predictive value.
• A score >= 8 was 90-94% sensitive and 45-49% specific.
Performance:
• The area under the ROC curve was 0.76.
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