Abstract
BACKGROUND: Vedolizumab is a gut-selective, anti-lymphocyte trafficking biologic therapy for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Clinical trials have demonstrated the positive impact of vedolizumab on patient quality of life (QoL); however, real-world evidence of its impact is limited. We evaluated vedolizumab impact on QoL of patients with IBD during the first 52 weeks of treatment in real-world practice in the United Kingdom and Ireland. METHODS: In this prospective observational study, patients with IBD initiated on vedolizumab completed 4 validated IBD-specific QoL questionnaires at baseline and weeks 14, 26, and 52. The primary endpoint was change in mean Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ) score. Secondary endpoints included changes in mean scores and sub-scores for other QoL questionnaires. RESULTS: Overall, 61 patients were enrolled, including 22 with Crohn's disease (CD) and 39 with ulcerative colitis (UC). At week 52, the mean change in SIBDQ scores from baseline was statistically significant (+ 12.3 [p = 0.0123] for CD and + 10.8 [p = 0.0037] for UC) and clinically meaningful (considered as a ≥ 10-point change). A significant improvement in mean SIBDQ scores was seen as early as week 14 for both CD and UC cohorts (p = 0.0256 and p = 0.0348, respectively). CONCLUSIONS: These real-world findings, using multiple validated tools, demonstrate that vedolizumab treatment for IBD is associated with measurable improvements in QoL from baseline.