Evaluating the process of care for persons admitted to Toronto area hospitals with acute severe ulcerative colitis

Acute severe ulcerative colitis (ASUC) is associated with significant morbidity. In patients with ulcerative colitis (UC), the estimated lifetime risk of developing severe colitis is 25%. Several gastrointestinal societies have provided recommendations on pathways of care for managing ASUC. The degree to which they are adhered to in different care settings remains unclear.

We conducted a retrospective review using data from 7 acute-care hospitals collected through the general medicine inpatient initiative (GEMINI), a hospital research collaborative that collects administrative and clinical data from hospital information systems. We identified all patients with the most responsible inpatient discharge diagnosis of ulcerative colitis between April 2015 and December 2019. The primary outcome was the difference in hospital length of stay of patients admitted with ASUC based on hospital-type; community, academic, or inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-focussed sites.

765 eligible patients were identified between April 2015 and December 2019. The mean hospital length of stay was 9.21 days for the academic sites, 6.94 days for the community sites, and 8.03 for the IBD specialty centre (P = .094). Adverse events were uncommon overall. In our multiple logistic regression analysis, we identified that admission to an IBD-focussed centre compared to an academic centre, carried an odds ratio of 2.07 (95% CI, 1.16-3.78) for the outcome of inpatient-colectomy.

The processes of care for patients with ASUC varied on the basis of the type of hospital they were admitted to, with the IBD specialty centre providing the most guideline adherent care. Low-cost interventions should be utilized to promote adherence to clinical practice recommendations.