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PATIENTS (PTS) AND PHYSICIANS HAVE DIFFERENT PERCEPTIONS OF DISEASE SEVERITY IN ULCERATIVE COLITIS (UC): RESULTS FROM TWO INTERNET SURVEYS
DT Rubin1, CA Siegel2, SV Kane3, DG Binion4, R Panaccione5, MC Dubinsky6, J Hopper7
1Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Medicine, University of Chicago Medical Center, Chicago, IL, USA; 2Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center, Lebanon, NH, USA; 3IBD Clinic, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, USA; 4Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Medical College of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, WI, USA; 5Division of Gastroenterology, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta; 6Pediatric IBD Center, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, Los Angeles, CA, USA; 7Richard Day Research, Evanston, IL, USA
Purpose: To understand how pts and physicians perceive the impact of UC on pts’ lives.
METHODS: Two US-based internet surveys were conducted: one in pts with UC and one in an unrelated sample of gastroenterologists (gastros).
RESULTS: 451 pts with UC and 300 gastros were included in the surveys. 20% of pts reported being diagnosed with mild disease, 63% with moderate, 13% with severe. 36% of pts reported having =>6 flares per year (subjective self-definition); a greater number than the gastros suggested for a pt population with the above distribution of disease severities. 44% of pts believed being in remission means living with UC symptoms, but managing life without interruption. While ~55% of pts reported being prescribed 5-aminosalicylic acid (5 ASA) therapy, the gastros reported prescribing 5-ASA therapy to 87% of their pts. Both pts and gastros believed that managing UC medication is a struggle for pts (49% and 41%) and that it is difficult for pts to take medication as prescribed every day (42% and 90%). In fact, 46% of pts admitted to not taking all of their medication in the past week. This matched well with the response from the gastros who believed that 41% of their pts were not adherent.
CONCLUSION: These results suggest that pts and gastros define disease severity differently, and that many pts believe that it is ‘normal’ to live with UC-related symptoms. Both pts and gastros acknowledge the level of patient non-adherence to prescribed medication.
Research funded by Shire Pharmaceuticals Inc, Wayne, PA, USA