Grade ulcerative colitis activity in children with the six-item PUCAI, a purely clinical index that needs no blood work or endoscopy. Remission is under 10 points, mild 10 to 34, moderate 35 to 64, and severe 65 or more.
PUCAI — Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity IndexScore each of the six items using the validated weights. Total ranges 0–85. Source: Turner et al., Gastroenterology 2007.
1.Abdominal pain
2.Rectal bleeding
3.Stool consistency of most stools
4.Number of stools per 24 h
5.Nocturnal stools (any episode causing wakening)
6.Activity level
0/ 85
PUCAI 0 — Remission
Interpretation
Total score
Activity
<10
Remission
10–34
Mild activity
35–64
Moderate activity
65–85
Severe activity
Clinical Guidance
The PUCAI is a validated, non-invasive index of ulcerative colitis activity in children. It uses six purely clinical items — abdominal pain, rectal bleeding, stool consistency, stool frequency, nocturnal stools, and activity level — with the validated item weights shown above, for a total of 0–85. A score below 10 indicates remission, 10–34 mild, 35–64 moderate, and 65–85 severe disease.
Because it requires no endoscopy or laboratory tests, the PUCAI can be repeated frequently to track response to therapy. A change of about 20 points is considered clinically meaningful. It is a clinical assessment aid and does not replace endoscopic or histologic evaluation when those are indicated.
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How to Use
Enter the values for the scenario you are assessing. Grade ulcerative colitis activity in children with the six-item PUCAI, a purely clinical index that needs no blood work or endoscopy. Remission is under 10 points, mild 10 to 34, moderate 35 to 64, and severe 65 or more. Use the pucai score result to inform your calculation.