The assessment and monitoring of patients with Crohn's disease require
s long-term information concerning the patient's health, the intensity
of the inflammatory process and the involvement of the intestinal tra
ct in terms of disease-extent and complications. Different approaches
are required for research and for clinical practice. In this review, w
e analyse the advances in clinical indices and laboratory tests perfor
med in serum, urine or faeces, and also report some aspects of scintig
raphy, ultrasound, endoscopy and radiology.