Work

Poster Session II - A215 OVER 25% OF INFLAMMATORY BOWEL DISEASE ADVANCED THERAPY DOSE ESCALATIONS ARE BASED ON SYMPTOMS ALONE: A QUALITY IMPROVEMENT OPPORTUNITY

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: Background Choosing Wisely Canada (CWC) recommends that long-term therapies for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) should not be initiated or escalated based only on symptoms. Dose escalations of advanced IBD therapies can lead to increased costs, potential safety concerns, and may subject patients to long-term use of higher than necessary advanced therapy doses. This study provides a single-centre examination of advanced IBD therapy dose escalations including what indications were present to inform these management changes. Aims To assess the proportion of advanced IBD therapy changes made between 2021 and 2025 at the University of Alberta IBD Unit which followed current CWC recommendations. Methods This retrospective cohort quality improvement study reviewed advanced IBD therapy dose escalations to determine which reported indications were present at time of escalation. Possible indications included patient symptoms, abnormal biomarkers (i.e., fecal calprotectin [FCP], C-reactive protein), active disease on endoscopy, imaging results (i.e., intestinal ultrasound, CT and/or MR enterography), serum drug and anti-drug antibody levels, and missed doses. Descriptive statistics were calculated for the overall cohort and subgroups for each advanced therapy agent. Results In total, 1334 advanced IBD therapy dose escalations for 1081 patients were reviewed. 384 (28.8%) dose escalations were made based on patient symptoms alone and 701 (52.5%) were made in response to active disease being identified. The remaining 249 (18.7%) escalations were based on serum drug and anti-drug antibodies levels, with or without concurrent symptoms. Anti-TNF agents were the most frequently escalated medication class with 728 (54.6%) escalations, followed by anti-IL12/23 with 358 (26.8%), anti-integrins with 190 (14.2%), JAK inhibitors with 45 (3.4%), and anti-IL23 with 13 (1.0%). Evidence of disease activity was most commonly obtained from FCP levels (48.4%) and endoscopic findings (47.4%). Dose de-escalations were also identified, with 54 de-escalations documented between 2021 and 2025. Conclusions This study demonstrates the need for ongoing improvement in determining active IBD prior to advanced therapy dose escalations. Recommendations regarding the use of serum drug and anti-drug antibody levels to inform dose escalations could potentially minimize the discordance between current CWC recommendations and clinical practice as shown in this study. Further research assessing the clinical outcomes of patients who were dose escalated on the basis of symptoms alone is required. Funding Agencies None

Source: Journal of the Canadian Association of Gastroenterology

DOI: 10.1093/jcag/gwaf042.215

Authors: S A MacKay, C McCabe-Woodrow, K O’Hara-Banack, P Eliuk, K Kroeker

Institutions: University of Alberta, Alberta Hospital Edmonton, University of Alberta Hospital

Language: English

Topic: Inflammatory Bowel Disease

Subfield: Genetics

Field: Biochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology

Domain: Life Sciences

SDG: Good health and well-being

Open Access status: gold

Estimated APC paid: $2,198