Real-world clinical characteristics and therapeutic strategies in patients with moderate-to-severe inflammatory bowel disease in Argentina: Data from the RISE-AR study

Objective: Real-world evidence on the adoption of different pharmacological strategies in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Latin America is scarce. Herein, we describe real-world sociodemographic, clinical characteristics, and different therapeutic approaches used in patients with IBD in Argentina.

Methods: RISE AR (NCT03488030) was a multicenter, non-interventional study with a cross-sectional evaluation and a 3-year retrospective chart review conducted in Argentina. Adult patients with a previous diagnosis of moderate-to-severe ulcerative colitis (UC) or Crohn's disease (CD) at least 6 months prior to enrollment were included.

Results: This study included 246 patients with IBD (CD: 41%; UC: 59%), with a median age of 39.5 years (IQR 30.7-51.7) for CD and 41.9 years (33.3-55.3) for UC. Overall, 51.5% of CD patients had colonic disease involvement, while 45.5% of UC patients had extensive colitis. At enrollment, the overall use of biologics was high, especially in CD patients (CD: 73.2% vs. UC: 30.3%, p<0.001), while the use of immunosuppressants was similar (∼41%, p=1.000) for both diseases. IBD treatments ever prescribed and healthcare resources utilization during the retrospective period were (CD, UC): biologics: 79.2%, 33.8% (p<0.001); immunosuppressants: 65.3%, 58.6% (p=0.352); aminosalicylates: 62.4%, 97.9% (p<0.001); corticosteroids: 55.4%, 69.7% (p=0.031); surgery: 17.8%, 1.4% (p<0.001); and hospitalizations: 33.7%, 21.4% (p=0.039).

Conclusion: In this cohort of IBD patients, overall prescription patterns of conventional therapy were similar to reports elsewhere; however, biologic therapy use was high, especially in CD, consistent with disease behavior and possibly reflecting better access to care in referral centers. Interestingly, over half of CD patients presented colonic involvement.