Unmet needs in adult patients with ulcerative colitis in Spain: a real-world Adelphi Disease Specific Programme study

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) characterized by chronic inflammation of the colonic mucosal lining.

This study aimed to examine unmet needs among patients with UC in Spain.

Data were analyzed from the Adelphi Real World IBD Disease Specific Programme™, a cross-sectional survey of physicians and patients with IBD in Spain between October 2020 and March 2021.

Physicians reported patient clinical characteristics, disease severity, treatment patterns and satisfaction, symptoms, and flare and remission status. Patients were then invited to voluntarily self-complete a form reporting health-related quality of life (HRQoL) and work productivity/activity impairment. Analyses were descriptive.

Overall, 57 physicians reported data for 410 patients with UC presenting a high disease severity profile. The mean (standard deviation) patient age was 45 (15) years, with 88% presenting with moderate-to-severe UC at diagnosis. In the survey, 75% and 63% of patients were treated with conventional therapy and biologics, respectively. After treatment initiation, patients had lower disease severity, but 29% of patients had moderate-to-severe disease despite receiving biologics or Janus kinase inhibitors. Overall, 81% of patients and 86% of physicians were satisfied with treatment. Among patients classified as having moderate-to-severe UC, commonly reported symptoms included abdominal pain (41%), bowel urgency (37%), and bloody diarrhea (37%). The mean number of flares experienced in the past year was 1.7, lasting on average >30 days. Consequently, the HRQoL of these patients was impaired.

While disease severity appeared to be lower after the initiation of current treatment, and despite the high prevalence of treatment satisfaction, almost a third of patients remained classified as moderate-to-severe, experiencing symptoms, flares, and impaired HRQoL. Therefore, there is a need for new therapeutic alternatives to target patient unmet needs.