P258 Correlation between patient-reported disease activity, physician’s global assessment and quality of life in Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Abstract

Abstract Background As a chronic disease, patients’ perspectives on their disease status and quality of life is an essential part of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management. Patient reported outcomes should be the standard of measure for signs and symptoms evaluation. We aimed to evaluate the correlation between patients’ self-assessment of disease activity, activity scores and the physician’s global assessment. Methods A unicentric cross-sectional study was conducted. The Short Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire (SIBDQ) was administered to consecutively evaluated IBD patients in the outpatient setting. Additionally, a pilot questionnaire containing items related to disease activity was also applied to both the patients and the attending physician. Disease activity was categorized as remission, mild, moderate, or severe. Remission was defined as Harvey Bradshaw Index (HBI) ≤ 4 for Crohn's disease or Mayo Clinic Subscore (MCS) ≤ 2 for ulcerative colitis. Correlations between patient's perspective on disease activity, attending physician’s global assessment, activity scores and patient's quality of life were assessed using Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient. Results A total of 105 patients were included (female: 52%; mean age: 44±15 years), of whom 68% had Crohn's disease. 71% percent of patients were receiving biological therapy (table 1). A quarter of the patients (n=27) perceived their disease to be in remission, of whom 56% were indeed in deep remission and 19% in endoscopic remission (table 1). A statistically significant positive correlation was observed between patient self-assessment and HBI scores (mean=2.5±6.5 points, r=0.400, p=0.001) and MCS scores (mean=3.4±4.0 points, r=0.574, p<0.001). Among patients who did not consider themselves in remission, 42% rated the activity of their disease as mild, 23% as moderate, and 9% as severe. The attending physician assessed 26% with mild disease, 22% with moderate disease, and 18% with severe disease (table 1). There was a statistically significant positive correlation between patient and physician assessments (r=0.374; p<0.001). The mean score on the SIBDQ was 28±11 points (table 1), and a statistically significant positive correlation was found between patient self-assessment of disease activity and the SIBDQ (r=0.508, p<0.001). Conclusion These observational data suggest a weak correlation between patient-reported disease activity and the physician’s global assessment. Divergent perceptions of disease activity between patients and physicians may compromise patient-engagement. Furthermore, the moderate correlation observed with overall quality of life supports the importance of alignment patients and physicians to improve the quality of care provided.