The UCDAI is a series of qualifiers about the symptoms of ulcerative colitis including stool frequency, rectal bleeding, the appearance of the lining of the colon, and a physician rating of disease activity. Each of these items is given a number from 0 to 3, with 3 being the highest rating for disease activity.
In clinical trials, remission is often defined as a UCDAI score of 1 or less, and improvement is a reduction of 3 or more points from the score at the beginning of the trial.
The UCDAI was developed in 1987 by Sutherland, et al. The UCDAI, or any other disease activity scale, cannot tell a person whether or not he or she has ulcerative colitis. It is a tool that is used by researchers, often during the course of clinical trials to study the effects of a new medication. Many gastroenterologists don't use this scale, so it isn't something that you should expect to be part of your standard assessment.
Source:
Sutherland LR, Martin F, Greer S, et al. "5-Aminosalicylic acid enema in the treatment of distal ulcerative colitis, proctosigmoiditis, and proctitis." Gastroenterology 1987;92:1894–1898. 5 Oct 2010.
