Automatically generates scores when the 4 subscores are entered. This scoring system is free to use with citation.
If the embedded calculator does not load, scores can be calculated via the link in the menu or by clicking here.
About the Score
The Boone-Mayer Colitis Severity Score uses a rigorously tested equation for scoring colitis severity in H&E slides of mouse models’ colons based on 4 standard characteristics of colitis: crypt hyperplasia, crypt density, abcess/ulcer count, and immune cell infiltration. The purpose of this equation is to standardize the way colitis severity is scored within the IBD research community as no standard equation has been decided upon. This equation is modified from a heavily cited scoring methodology by Koelink et al. (linked on menu). More information on this equation can be found in the article linked on the sidebar menu. Additional information on how to score individual characteristics can be found in the section below.
How to Score Individual Characteristics of Colitis
When giving a score to each of the following characteristics, first ensure you are analyzing all tissue sections on the slide not just one portion of the slide. Second, ensure you are scoring at 5x magnification for abscesses and 10x magnification for the remaining 3 characteristics. Each of the following characteristics are scored on an integer scale of 0 (healthy) to 3 (severe colitis) except abscess (also referred to as abcess) and ulcer total count is any positive integer or 0. The descriptions of how to score individual characteristics are adapted from Koelink et al.’s original article by Katelyn Ruley-Haase and Toni Boger-May.
Crypt Hyperplasia (crypt elongation) is when the length of the crypts of the colon is increased from the standard crypt length of healthy colons.
0 – None
1 – Slight increase in crypt length
2 – 2 to 3-fold increase in crypt length
3 – >3-fold increase in crypt length
Crypt Density: Density will vary based on what portion of the colon you are scoring. Proximal and distal colons tend to have standard appearance of rectangular crypts. Cecums tend to have circular appearances as well. Therefore, look for the general overall collapse of structure when scoring cecums.
0 – Normal
1 – Decreased by <10%
2 – Decreased by 10-50%
3 – Decreased by >50%
Abscess (Abcess) and Ulcer (Ulcer-like) Number: An abscess is a pocket of ~5+ dead cells (primarily neutrophils) surrounded by a cell wall. This is the only characteristic that should be scored at 5x magnification. If the abscess is not visible this zoomed-out, it does not count as an abscess. For this equation, abscesses only count in crypts not lumen or muscle layer. (In Koelink et al. scoring, they counted in both crypts and muscle layer.) Ulcer or ulcer-like areas of infiltrate will depend on your mouse model of colitis (innate immune-mediated or immunocompetent), but they should resemble an area in the colon similar to the above example (i.e. volcano-like portrusion).
Inflammatory Infiltrate
0 – None
1 – Increased presence of inflammatory cells
2 – Infiltrates are also in submucosa
3 – Transmural (throughout the whole wall)