New research was virtually presented at ACG 2020, the Virtual Annual Scientific Meeting & Postgraduate Course of the American College of Gastroenterology.
Evidence suggests significant changes in the treatment of ulcerative colitis during the past 2 decades with earlier initiation of biologics, with recent reports indicating that early biologics use may help decrease rates of colectomy. To investigate trends in colectomy and biologic use in patients with ulcerative colitis, researchers analyzed data from a commercial databased with electronic health record data from 26 major integrated US healthcare systems form 2000-2019. Among the 146,430 patients identified with ulcerative colitis, 10.2% had colectomy and 6.8% were treated with biologics. Colectomy prevalence decreased from 10.8% in 2000 to 2.1% in 2019, a decline associated with a linear increase in the prevalence of biologic medication use in ulcerative colitis, from 0.5% in 2000 to 12.8% in 2019. After adjusting for other therapies, including mesalamine, corticosteroids, and thiopurines, biologics were inversely related to colectomy.
