IBD-PODCAST Portugal: Proportion of Patients with Suboptimal Disease Control and Its Impact on Quality of Life in Inflammatory Bowel Disease.

Introduction: Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease (CD) are inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) characterised by chronic inflammation of the digestive tract. Patients with IBD often present a suboptimal disease control due to the limited efficacy of current treatments and inadequate disease management. A suboptimal disease control is often associated with poor quality of life (QoL) and a higher economic burden. The objective of this study was to assess the proportion of suboptimal disease control in daily clinical practice, the associated impact on QoL, and the economic burden in patients with UC and CD in Portugal. Methods: This was a non-interventional, multicentre study, wherein clinician-reported outcomes, patient-reported outcomes, and retrospective data were collected from medical chart review from May 17, 2022, to October 17, 2022, in five hospital centres in Portugal. The primary outcomes of this study were to estimate: (1) the proportion of CD and UC patients with suboptimal disease control, according to the STRIDE-II based recommendations, and (2) the associated impact on QoL of optimal and suboptimal controlled CD or UC. Results: Of 130 patients included (67 with CD and 63 with UC), 56.7% of CD and 31.7% of UC patients were reported to have suboptimal disease control according to STRIDE-II based recommendations. Notably, 82.1% and 54.0% of the patients with CD and UC were currently on targeted immunomodulator (TIM). Patients with CD and UC and suboptimal disease control showed an impaired QoL compared to those with optimal control. Mean annual healthcare costs were substantially higher among patients with CD with optimal control and patients with UC with suboptimal control. Conclusion: Despite the high rate of treatment with TIM, a considerable proportion of patients with IBD had a suboptimal disease control, indicating a substantial disease burden. Ensuring effective disease management of these patients is crucial as a suboptimal disease control may negatively affect the patient's long-term clinical outcomes and QoL.