WE-CARE IBD SCORE: Assessing High-quality Care From the Perspective of Patients With Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Sex and gender in inflammatory bowel disease outcomes and research

Extensive patient heterogeneity is a challenge in the management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Sex and gender, as well as the interaction of sex and gender with other social identities, referred to as intersectionality, contribute to this heterogeneity and might affect IBD outcomes. An interdisciplinary team of clinicians, researchers, patients, and sex and gender experts reviewed current literature on the effect of sex and gender dimensions on IBD outcomes. The team also investigated the role that stakeholders have in advancing sex-based and gender-based IBD knowledge, as comprehensive studies are scarce. Acknowledging and integrating sex and gender into the organisation and content of research (eg, study design, participant recruitment, data analysis, data interpretation, data dissemination, and impact evaluation) could enhance the validity, relevance, and applicability of research. Such gendered innovation has potential for advancing personalised medicine and improving the quality of life for people with IBD.

The 2023 Impact of Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Canada: Access to and Models of Care

Rising compounding prevalence of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) (Kaplan GG, Windsor JW. The four epidemiological stages in the global evolution of inflammatory bowel disease. Nat Rev Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2021;18:56-66.) and pandemic-exacerbated health system resource limitations have resulted in significant variability in access to high-quality, evidence-based, person-centered specialty care for Canadians living with IBD. Individuals with IBD have identified long wait times, gaps in biopsychosocial care, treatment and travel expenses, and geographic and provider variation in IBD specialty care and knowledge as some of the key barriers to access. Care delivered within integrated models of care (IMC) has shown promise related to impact on disease-related outcomes and quality of life. However, access to these models is limited within the Canadian healthcare systems and much remains to be learned about the most appropriate IMC team composition and roles. Although eHealth technologies have been leveraged to overcome some access challenges since COVID-19, more research is needed to understand how best to integrate eHealth modalities (i.e., video or telephone visits) into routine IBD care. Many individuals with IBD are satisfied with these eHealth modalities. However, not all disease assessment and monitoring can be achieved through virtual modalities. The need for access to person-centered, objective disease monitoring strategies, inclusive of point of care intestinal ultrasound, is more pressing than ever given pandemic-exacerbated restrictions in access to endoscopy and cross-sectional imaging. Supporting learning healthcare systems for IBD and research relating to the strategic use of innovative and integrative implementation strategies for evidence-based IBD care interventions are greatly needed. Data derived from this research will be essential to appropriately allocating scarce resources aimed at improving person-centred access to cost-effective IBD care.

COVID-19 and inflammatory bowel disease crosstalk: From emerging association to clinical proposal

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection can cause coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), an acute respiratory inflammation that has emerged worldwide since December 2019, and it quickly became a global epidemic. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a group of chronic nonspecific intestinal inflammatory diseases whose etiology has not been elucidated. The two have many overlapping symptoms in clinical presentation, such as abdominal pain, diarrhea, pneumonia, etc. Imbalance of the autoimmune system in IBD patients and long-term use of immunosuppressive drugs may increase the risk of infection; and systemic symptoms caused by COVID-19 may also induce or exacerbate intestinal inflammation. It has been found that the SARS-CoV-2 receptor angiotensin converting enzyme 2, which is highly expressed in the lung and intestine, is an inflammatory protective factor, and is downregulated and upregulated in COVID-19 and IBD, respectively, suggesting that there may be a coregulatory pathway. In addition, the immune activation pattern of COVID-19 and the cytokine storm in the inflammatory response have similar roles in IBD, indicating that the two diseases may influence each other. Therefore, this review aimed to address the following research questions: whether SARS-CoV-2 infection leads to the progression of IBD; whether IBD increases the risk of COVID-19 infection and poor prognosis; possible common mechanisms and genetic cross-linking between the two diseases; new treatment and care strategies for IBD patients, and the feasibility and risk of vaccination in the context of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Quality of care in patients with inflammatory bowel disease from a public health center in Brazil

BACKGROUND

Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) are chronic diseases that demand continuous interaction between patients and healthcare providers. Quality of care (QoC) is a factor that contributes to a patient's adherence to treatment and its success.

AIM

To evaluate QoC in patients from a single IBD reference center.

METHODS

This cross-sectional study included 133 patients from a single Brazilian IBD public health center. QoC was evaluated through the QoC Through the Eyes of Patients with IBD (QUOTE-IBD) questionnaire (based on patient perspectives), which measures eight dimensions of care. We compared QoC among patients with Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis and analyzed the clinical and psychological factors associated with QoC satisfaction. Clinical evaluations assessed disease characteristics, quality of life, anxiety, and depression levels.

RESULTS

Sixty-nine patients with Crohn's disease and 64 with ulcerative colitis were interviewed. The mean age was 37.26 years ± 13.05 years, and 63.91% of the patients were women. The mean duration of the disease was 8.44 years ± 7.59 years, where most patients were in remission (70.31% of patients with ulcerative colitis and 62.32% with Crohn's disease). The total QoC score of the sample was 8.61 years ± 1.31 points, indicating that the QoC provided by the center was unsatisfactory. According to univariate logistic regression, patients with Crohn's disease had higher satisfaction rates than those with ulcerative colitis [odds ratio (OR): 2.746; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.360-5.541; P = 0.0048] and patients on infliximab (OR: 2.175; 95%CI: 1.037-4.562; P = 0.0398).

CONCLUSION

Patients from the IBD public center reported good doctor-patient relationships, but had problems related to the healthcare structure. Evaluation of healthcare centers is of paramount to improve QoC for the patients involved.

Development of an inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) Patient-Reported Experience Measure (PREM): A patient-led consensus work and 'think aloud' study for a quality improvement programme

BACKGROUND

Patient-Reported Experience Measures (PREMs) are key in improving healthcare quality, but no PREM exists for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This study aimed to co-produce a PREM with IBD service users for IBD service evaluation and quality improvement programme.

METHODS

A pool of 75 items was drawn from published survey instruments covering interactions with services and aspects of living with IBD. In Stage 1, during two workshops, eight expert service users reduced candidate items through a ranked-choice voting exercise and suggested further items. During Stage 2, 18 previously uninvolved people with IBD assessed the face and content validity of the candidate items in 'Think Aloud' interviews. During two final workshops (Stage 3), the expert service users removed, modified and added items based on the interview findings to produce a final version of the PREM.

RESULTS

Stage 1 generated a draft working PREM mapped to the following four domains: Patient-Centred Care; Quality; Accessibility; Communication and Involvement. The PREM included a set of nine items created by the expert group which shifted the emphasis from 'self-management' to 'living with IBD'. Stage 2 interviews showed that comprehension of the PREM was very good, although there were concerns about the wording, IBD-relevance and ambiguity of some items. During the final two workshops in Stage 3, the expert service users removed 7 items, modified 15 items and added seven new ones based on the interview findings, resulting in a 38-item PREM.

CONCLUSIONS

This study demonstrates how extensive service user involvement can inform PREM development.

PATIENT OR PUBLIC CONTRIBUTION

Patients were involved as active members of the research team and as research participants to co-produce and validate a PREM for IBD services. In Stage 1, eight expert service users ('the expert group') reduced candidate items for the PREM through a voting exercise and suggested new items. During Stage 2, 18 previously uninvolved people with IBD (the 'think aloud' participants) assessed the validity of the candidate items in 'Think Aloud' interviews as research participants. In Stage 3, the expert group removed, changed and added items based on the interview findings to produce a final version of the 38-item PREM. This study shows how service user involvement can meaningfully inform PREM development.

Rapid Rehabilitation Program Can Promote the Recovery of Gastrointestinal Function, Speed Up the Postoperative Rehabilitation Process, and Reduce the Incidence of Complications in Patients Undergoing Radical Gastrectomy

Objective

To explore the influence of rapid rehabilitation programs on gastrointestinal function, rehabilitation process, and complications of patients undergoing radical gastrectomy.

Methods

Of ninety-eight radical gastrectomy cases assessed for eligibility from January 2018 to July 2020, 43 patients who received routine perioperative nursing were assigned to the control group (CG), and 55 patients given a rapid rehabilitation program were assigned to the research group (RG). The recovery of gastrointestinal function, pain, nutritional status, complications, rehabilitation process, quality of life, and nursing satisfaction were compared.

Results

After nursing, in contrast to the CG, the RG showed significantly better recovery of gastrointestinal function (the first time to eat (t = 7.701, P < 0.01), the first time to anal exhaust (t = 9.342, P < 0.01), the first time to defecation (t = 2.061, P=0.040), and the recovery time to bowel sounds (t = 16.030, P < 0.01)), notably improved pain and nutritional status, and showed fewer complications (X² = 9.385, P=0.002). Rapid rehabilitation protocol also showed shorter recovery time and higher quality of life and nursing satisfaction of patients versus the routine perioperative nursing (all P < 0.05).

Conclusion

The rapid rehabilitation program can accelerate the recovery of gastrointestinal function and postoperative rehabilitation and reduce the incidence of complications in patients undergoing radical gastrectomy.

Does patient engagement affect IBD patients' health-related quality of life? Findings from a cross-sectional study among people with inflammatory bowel diseases

Background

Patients diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are required to deal with the unpredictability of this clinical condition, which is associated with poorer health-related quality of life (HRQoL) compared to other clinical conditions. Patient engagement is currently demonstrated to relate with chronic patients’ HRQoL, but few studies have been conducted among this population.

Methods

A cross-sectional study was conducted among 1176 IBD patients. Data were collected on participants’ HRQoL (SIBD-Q) and patient engagement (PHE-s®). Regression analysis was used to examine the effects of patient engagement on HRQoL.

Results

About the half of the sample (47%) reported a low patient engagement level. 30% of the sample reported a low level of HRQoL. Psycho-emotional functioning resulted to be the aspect of HRQoL most impacted in the 37% of the sample. The regression model showed that PHE-s® is significantly related to the SIBD-Q total score (B = .585; p < .001; R squared = .343) and to the subscales’ scores—systemic symptoms (B = .572; p < .001; R squared = .327), bowel symptoms (B = .482; p < .001; R squared = .232), social (B = .485; p < .001; R squared = .234) and psycho-emotional (B = .607; p < .001; R squared = .369) functioning.

Conclusions

Patients who are engaged in their IBD care pathway are more likely to report higher level of HRQoL, thus offering clues to potential therapeutic approaches to ameliorating IBD patients’ wellbeing. As this is a modifiable factor, screening for patient  health engagement levels, coupled with appropriate interventions, could improve care, and ultimately improve HRQoL outcomes among IBD patients.