Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in children needs treatment, monitoring, and health care services. Researchers in this study investigated patient- and system-related factors that influence ED/urgent care usage, as well as patterns of general, specialty, and emergency department (ED) care delivery. The survey was completed by a total of 141 parents. The average patient age is 13.9 years, with 80 percent having Crohn’s disease, 16 percent having ulcerative colitis, and 4 percent having IBD-unspecified. The average illness duration is four years. Thirty percent had at least one additional chronic condition, and 31 percent had had IBD-related surgery in the past. Most children had 1 to 2 IBD-related office visits with their gastrointestinal (GI) doctor in the previous year and no IBD-related hospitalizations. Eighty-eight percent had a primary care provider (PCP), and the majority saw their PCP once or twice a year. Despite this, 86 percent sought medical attention from sources other than their primary care physician or gastroenterologist; 27 percent went to the emergency department, and 45 percent went to urgent care. Children with less than a bachelor’s degree, families who lived further away from their GI doctor, and children who visited their PCP more frequently were more likely to use ED/urgent care.
In juvenile patients with IBD, ED/urgent care usage was higher than predicted, likely leading to fragmented, expensive care and poor results.
