The original British Society of Gastroenterology (BSG) guidelines for the initial biopsy diagnosis of suspected chronic idiopathic inflammatory bowel disease (CIIBD) were published in 1997 in the Journal of Clinical Pathology and by the BSG, and were followed by a supplementary document, also published by the BSG.1^–3 The guidelines were comprehensive and evidence-based, and included text, figures, proformas and tables.

A need for revision and update of these guidelines has been identified. New clinical and pathological entities have been described, new approaches to diagnosis and management have been adopted, and there has been sufficient time for pathologists to assess the value of the various elements of the original guidelines. Standardisation of reporting has become more prevalent, encouraged by the publication of cancer reporting guidelines and other CIIBD reporting guidelines.4 Also, the proportion of gastrointestinal (GI) pathology reported by pathologists with a specialist interest has increased.

As an initial step towards revision, an audit of UK GI pathologists’ use of the guidelines …