Prescribed cumulative dosage of corticosteroids to patients with inflammatory bowel disease diagnosed between 2006...

Treatments and strategies for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have gradually evolved in the 2000s.

We investigated whether the prescription of corticosteroids (prednisolone and budesonide) in patients with IBD in the first 5 years after diagnosis changed in patients diagnosed between 2006 and 2018.

Retrospective observational study.

The cumulative prescribed dosage of corticosteroids for the first 5 years after diagnosis was registered in all patients with IBD (n = 386) at our clinic for those diagnosed between 2006 and 2018.

The proportion of patients with IBD who were prescribed at least one prescription of corticosteroids in year 1-5 after diagnosis was 55.3%, 27.9%, 22.7%, 14.1%, and 14.6%, respectively. The proportion of patients who had a cumulative dose of prednisolone >1 g in the first 5 years after diagnosis was 40.1% for ulcerative colitis and 34.9% for Crohn's disease (CD). The cumulative prescribed dosage (within 3 years after diagnosis) of prednisolone had declined (rs = -0.164, p = 001), but had increased for budesonide (rs = 0.202, p < 0.001) between 2006 and 2020. The prescription of any immunomodulator for IBD in the first 5 years from diagnosis was stable between 2006 and 2018 (rs = 0.056, p = 0.257), but there was a minor increase in the prescription of Tumor Necrosis Factor (TNF)-inhibitors (rs = 0.119, p = 0.020). The use of five-acetyl salicylic acid (5-ASA) decreased in patients with CD (rs = -201, p = 0.012).

There was a decrease in the prescription of prednisolone and an increase in the prescription of budesonide treatment from 2006 to 2023; however, the cumulative exposure to corticosteroids in patients with IBD remains at a relatively high level.