Abstract

An Insight into Patients' Perspectives of Ulcerative Colitis Flares via Analysis of Online Public Forum Posts

Inflamm Bowel Dis. 2024 Oct 3;30(10):1748-1758. doi: 10.1093/ibd/izad247.

David T Rubin 1Joana Torres 2 3 4Iris Dotan 5 6Lan Terry Xu 7Irene Modesto 8John C Woolcott 9Sean Gardiner 8Bruce E Sands 10

 
     

Author information

1Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, University of Chicago Medicine, Chicago, IL, USA.

2Gastroenterology Division, Hospital Beatriz Ângelo, Loures, Portugal.

3Division of Gastroenterology, Hospital da Luz, Lisbon, Portugal.

4Faculty of Medicine, University of Lisbon, Portugal.

5Division of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Petah Tikva, Israel.

6Sackler Faculty of Medicine, Tel Aviv University, Tel Aviv, Israel.

7Netbase Quid™, Santa Clara, CA, USA.

8Pfizer Inc, New York, NY, USA.

9Pfizer Inc, Collegeville, PA, USA.

10Dr. Henry D. Janowitz Division of Gastroenterology, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, New York, NY, USA.

DOI: 10.1093/ibd/izad247

Abstract

Background: The knowledge of patients' perceptions of factors contributing to ulcerative colitis (UC) flares is limited; however, online patient communications could offer insight. This analysis aimed to identify the most frequent patient-reported triggers and symptoms of UC flares, which could highlight potential interventions for outcome improvement.

Methods: Online posts written pre- and postflare by patients with UC on 8 public forums in 6 countries between January 1, 2019, and February 14, 2021, were identified using flare-related keywords. Flare-related posts were captured and Netbase Quid™ artificial intelligence text analytics and natural language processing software were used to semantically map and identify commonly discussed themes and topics (subsets of themes).

Results: Of >27 000 patient posts, 12 900 were identified as flare related. The most frequent themes were treatment experiences and side effects (28.5% of posts), followed by flare symptoms (22.9% of posts). The most frequent topic was emotional/peer support (9.4% of posts), followed by experiences with mesalamine (and other oral/rectal formulations; 8.0% of posts), and dietary recommendations (6.0% of posts). Stress and anxiety were the most frequently reported flare triggers (37.9% of posts), followed by diet (28.4% of posts). Stress and anxiety were frequently identified as both triggers for, and general symptoms of, flare. Blood in the stool was the most discussed flare indicator (57.8% of posts).

Conclusions: Frequently discussed patient-perceived triggers of UC flares included diet, stress, and anxiety. These results suggest that physicians could incorporate a broader and more holistic approach to UC monitoring and management than is currently practiced.

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