Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Nov 7, 2024; 30(41): 4484-4489
Published online Nov 7, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i41.4484
Addressing diagnostic delays in inflammatory bowel diseases in Germany
Shi-Yan Zhang, Yin Lin
Shi-Yan Zhang, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Fuding Hospital, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuding 355200, Fujian Province, China
Yin Lin, Department of Gastroenterology, Fuding Hospital, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Fuding 355200, Fujian Province, China
Co-corresponding authors: Shi-Yan Zhang and Yin Lin.
Author contributions: Zhang SY drafted and submitted the manuscript; Lin Y wrote and edited the manuscript. All authors have revised and approved the final manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: The authors declare no competing interests.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Shi-Yan Zhang, MD, Director, Department of Clinical Laboratory, Fuding Hospital, Fujian University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, No. 120 South Road of Old City, Fuding 355200, Fujian Province, China. myebox@139.com
Received: July 14, 2024
Revised: September 26, 2024
Accepted: October 12, 2024
Published online: November 7, 2024
Processing time: 100 Days and 19.9 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: This editorial highlight the persistent issue of diagnostic delays in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), with a focus on the differences between Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC). In CD, symptoms such as diarrhea and skin lesions are associated with longer diagnostic times, whereas in UC, fever shortens the diagnostic time, but fatigue and a positive family history prolong it. These variations reflect the complex nature of IBD diagnosis. To address these challenges, the editorial advocates for improved physician education, public awareness initiatives, interdisciplinary teamwork, and the use of noninvasive screening tools to enhance early diagnosis and patient outcomes.