Routine psychological problems screening in hospitalized inflammatory bowel diseases and its effect for...

To examine the progression-free survival from disease worsening after the implementation of routine screening for psychological problems in hospitalized patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) during a long-term follow-up.

The retrospective cohort study enrolled 1265 patients with active IBDs. Their records were stratified into screening cohort (n = 827), receiving screening for psychological problems within 48 h after admission, and a 2:1 propensity score matching was utilized to match cases without screening as controls (n = 438). Primary endpoint was the progression-free survival from disease worsening defined as any IBDs-related emergency room visit, hospitalization or surgery during 12 months post-discharge. Secondary outcomes included quality of life (QoL) using quality-adjusted life years (QALYs) and adverse events.

The rate of progression-free survival from IBDs worsening was observed in 73.2% of patients in screening cohort, while 53.4% of cases in control cohort (odds ratio (OR) = 2.376 (95%CI: 1.864, 3.028), p < 0.001). Compared with controls, cases in screening cohort showed a superior mean of progression-free survival (log-rank p < 0.001) and a greater QALYs during the 12-month follow-up (p < 0.001). Patients in screening cohort were more likely to have hospital-acquired venous thromboembolism and pneumonia due to a longer hospital stay. No severe adverse events were observed.

There was evidence that patients in screening cohort had a better progression-free survival from IBDs worsening than those without these conditions, and also exhibited a better QoL during 12-month follow-up. It should be encouraged that hospitalized IBDs in active phase should be routinely screened for psychological problems that could influence disease course.