Abstract
BACKGROUND AND AIMS: Research on the impact of advanced therapies on bowel urgency severity in Crohn's disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC) is limited. We assessed moderate-to-severe bowel urgency among patients with UC or CD at advanced therapy initiation, 6 months, and 12 months. METHODS: Data from the Study of a Prospective Adult Research Cohort with Inflammatory Bowel Disease were used. Patients newly prescribed advanced therapies for CD or UC at enrollment, who completed the bowel urgency questionnaires and remained on the same advanced therapy at enrollment and at 6 months or 12 months, were included. Demographics, clinical data, and bowel urgency severity were summarized descriptively. RESULTS: Overall, 532 patients with CD were included (332 on tumor necrosis factor inhibitors [TNFi]; 200 on non-TNFi). Moderate-to-severe bowel urgency was reported by 29.5% (enrollment) and 20.3% (12 months) in the TNFi group and 36.0% (enrollment) and 39.2% (12 months) in the non-TNFi group. Worsened urgency was noted in 21.7% (TNFi) and 19.4% (non-TNFi), while improvement was seen in 17.9% (TNFi) and 22.3% (non-TNFi). Among the 203 patients with UC (TNFi: 108; non-TNFi: 95), moderate-to-severe urgency was reported by 18.5% (enrollment) and 16.9% (12 months) in the TNFi group, and 34.7% (enrollment) and 32.1% (12 months) in the non-TNFi group. Worsened urgency was noted in 22.1% (TNFi) and 19.6% (non-TNFi), while improvement was seen in 16.9% (TNFi) and 17.9% (non-TNFi). CONCLUSION: Despite a year of advanced therapy, the percentage of patients with CD or UC experiencing bowel urgency remained similar.