Gastroenterologists underestimate Crohn’s disease and UC in patients

Most physicians underestimate the severity of moderate or severe inflammatory bowel disease, specifically Crohn’s disease (CD) or ulcerative colitis (UC), according to the results of a survey from US drugmaker AbbVie (NYSE: ABBV) of 200 gastroenterologists using clinical indices to evaluate a patient’s disease severity.

The survey, which assessed physicians’ use of the Harvey-Bradshaw Index and the total Mayo Score indices that physicians use to evaluate the intensity of CD and UC, respectively, showed that in the case study of severe UC, 81% of the physicians underestimated the disease severity, while 19% correctly assessed the severity of the disease.

In the severe CD case study, 76% of the physicians underestimated the disease severity and 25% correctly assessed the severity of the disease. In the case study of moderate UC, 67% of the physicians underestimated disease severity, and 32% correctly assessed the severity of the disease. In the moderate CD case study, 55% of the physicians underestimated disease severity and 44% correctly assessed the severity of the disease.