Biologic dose escalation in inflammatory bowel disease in the United States - PubMed
3 hours ago
- #inflammatory bowel disease
- #biologic therapy
- #health care costs
- Biologic dose escalation is a common therapy adjustment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients experiencing loss of response.
- The study analyzed 6,056 Crohn's disease (CD) and 4,533 ulcerative colitis (UC) patients initiating biologics (adalimumab, infliximab, ustekinumab, vedolizumab, or tofacitinib for UC).
- Dose escalation occurred in 30.4% of CD and 30.1% of UC patients, with infliximab showing the highest escalation rates (48.8% CD, 44.8% UC).
- Patients with dose escalation had lower discontinuation rates but higher post-discontinuation switching compared to non-escalators.
- IBD-related health care costs were substantial, driven by biologic costs, with ustekinumab being the most expensive ($14,031 CD, $14,246 UC PPPM).
- Dose escalation significantly increased IBD-related health care costs, highlighting challenges in long-term biologic therapy and the need for optimized management strategies.