Quality of care for patients with inflammatory bowel disease in East China

AIM: To investigate the quality of care for a hospital based-cohort of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) from East China according to the current practice guidelines. METHODS: A retrospective review was conducted, involving 177 patients with IBD admitted to Sir Run Run Shaw Hospital, College of Medicine, Zhejiang University between June 2000 and June 2006. Data regarding demographic and clinical characteristics as well as medical therapy including use of oral aminosalisylates, topical therapy, corticosteroid agents, immunomodulatory agents (such as azathioprine) at admission and outpatient clinic visit were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 177 eligible patients were evaluated in this study, including 71 patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 106 with ulcerative colitis (UC). All were the Han nationality Chinese with active disease at baseline. All the 106 patients with ulcerative colitis received optimal doses of aminosalisylate while 27 of 68 (39.7%) patients with ileal or colonic CD received the suboptimal doses of aminosalisylate. The incidence of suboptimal dose of aminosalisylate was significantly higher in CD patients with small intestine involvement only (52.8% vs 25.0%, P = 0.019). Thirty-one (54.4%) patients with active distal or left-sided ulcerative colitis received topical therapy, and 27.8% of patients suffering from severe inflammatory bowel disease did not receive oral or intravenous steroid therapy. Among the 51 patients for whom thiopurine was indicated, only 10 (19.6%) received immunomodulatory agents, and more than half of the 8 patients received a suboptimal dose of azathiopurine with no attempt to increase its dosage. CONCLUSION: The quality of care for IBD patients can be further improved. A suboptimal dose of aminosalicylate is used in treatment of patients with CD, especially in those with small intestine involved only. Topical mesalazine is inadequately used in patients with distal or left-sided colitis. Oral or intravenous steroid therapy is not used in some patients with severe IBD. Use of immunomodulatory medication is limited. Larger prospective studies are needed to investigate the quality of care for patients with IBD to establish our own evidence-based guidelines. (c) 2008 WJG. All rights reserved.