Living with Ulcerative Colitis Study (LUCY) in England: a retrospective study evaluating healthcare resource utilisation and direct healthcare costs of postoperative care in ulcerative colitis

The incidence of remission and indicators of inadequate response to advanced therapy in patients with ulcerative colitis: results from medical charts in the United Kingdom

OBJECTIVE

A considerable proportion of patients with moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) treated with advanced therapies do not achieve remission, even after one year of treatment, and suboptimal response to advanced therapies is frequently observed in clinical practice. This study aims to analyze clinical practice data in the United Kingdom (UK) and assess the rates of clinical remission and inadequate response with advanced therapies among patients with UC.

METHODS

This retrospective chart review included patients with UC who initiated a new advanced therapy (i.e., adalimumab, infliximab, golimumab, tofacitinib, or vedolizumab) between January 2017 and September 2019 from eight clinics across the UK. At least 12 months of data before and after starting an advanced therapy were required. Remission was assessed using components of the Mayo score. Inadequate response was defined by therapeutic adjustment or emergency treatment.

RESULTS

Among 238 patients included (female: 46.6%; median age: 42.0 years; median follow-up: 28.8 months), 178 patients (74.8%) were biologic-naïve. At 12 months, 87 patients (53.9%) had achieved remission (median time to remission: 7.6 months); although 29 (33.3%) among them had required therapeutic modifications to achieve remission. At 12 months, 105 patients (44.3%) had at least one indicator of an inadequate response (median time to first indicator of inadequate response: 18.0 months).

CONCLUSIONS

Nearly half of patients did not achieve remission, and almost half of included patients had an inadequate response within 1 year after treatment initiation. More effective therapies are needed to effectively treat UC.