Kuenzig ME, Stukel TA, Carroll MW, Kaplan GG, Otley AR, Singh H, Bitton A, Fung SG, Spruin S, Coward S, Cui Y, Nugent Z, Griffiths AM, Mack DR, Jacobson K, Nguyen GC, Targownik LE, El-Matary W, Bernstein CN, Dummer TJB, Jones JL, Lix LM, Murthy SK, Peña-Sánchez JN, Nasiri S, and Benchimol EI
Purpose: The incidence of childhood-onset inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is rising. We described variation in health services utilization and need for surgery among children with IBD between six and 60 months following IBD diagnosis across Canadian pediatric centers and evaluated the associations between care provided at diagnosis at each center and the variation in these outcomes., Patients and Methods: Using population-based deterministically-linked health administrative data from four Canadian provinces (Alberta, Manitoba, Nova Scotia, Ontario) we identified children diagnosed with IBD <16 years of age using validated algorithms. Children were assigned to a pediatric center of care using a hierarchical approach based on where they received their initial care. Outcomes included IBD-related hospitalizations, emergency department (ED) visits, and IBD-related abdominal surgery occurring between 6 and sixty months after diagnosis. Mixed-effects meta-analysis was used to pool results and examine the association between center-level care provision and outcomes., Results: We identified 3784 incident cases of pediatric IBD, of whom 2937 (77.6%) were treated at pediatric centers. Almost a third (31.4%) of children had ≥1 IBD-related hospitalization and there were 0.66 hospitalizations per person during follow-up. More than half (55.8%) of children had ≥1 ED visit and there were 1.64 ED visits per person. Between-center heterogeneity was high for both outcomes; centers where more children visited the ED at diagnosis had more IBD-related hospitalizations and more ED visits during follow-up. Between-center heterogeneity was high for intestinal resection in Crohn's disease but not colectomy in ulcerative colitis., Conclusion: There is variation in health services utilization among children with IBD and risk of undergoing intestinal resection in those with Crohn's disease, but not colectomy among children with ulcerative colitis, across Canadian pediatric tertiary-care centers. Improvements in clinical care pathways are needed to ensure all children have equitable and timely access to high quality care., Competing Interests: Matthew Carroll has received speaker fees from AbbVie. Gilaad Kaplan has received honoraria for speaking or consultancy from AbbVie, Amgen, Janssen, Pfizer, Sandoz, and Pendopharm. Dr. Kaplan received grants for research from Ferring and for educational activities from AbbVie, Bristol Myers Squibb, Ferring, Fresenius-Kabi, Janssen, Pfizer, Takeda. He shares ownership of a patent: TREATMENT OF INFLAMMATORY DISORDERS, AUTOIMMUNE DISEASE, AND PBC. UTI Limited Partnership, assignee. Patent WO2019046959A1. PCT/CA2018/051098. September 7, 2018. Anthony Otley has been on advisory boards of AbbVie Canada, Janssen Canada and Amgen. He has received unrestricted educational grants from AbbVie Canada. His site is involved with clinical trials for AbbVie, Pfizer, Takeda, Eli Lily and BMS. He is co-owner of the copyright for PUCAI and the IMPACT questionnaire. Harminder Singh has been on advisory boards or consulted for Pendopharm, Abbvie Canada, Amgen Canada, Organon Canada, Eli Lilly Canada, Roche Canada, Sandoz Canada, Takeda Canada, Bristol Myers Squibb, and Guardant Health Inc. and has received research funding for an investigator-initiated study from Pfizer. Alain Bitton has participated in advisory boards with AbbVie, Janssen, Takeda, McKesson, BioJamp, Bristol Myers Squibb. He is on the speaker’s panel for Janssen, Takeda, Abbvie and has participated in educational activities supported by Viatris, Fresenius Kabi, and Amgen. Anne Griffiths is past holder of the Northbridge Financial Corporation Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, a joint Hospital-University Chair between the University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children, and the SickKids Foundation. She has received research support from Abbvie Canada. She is co-owner of copyright for the Pediatric Ulcerative Colitis Activity Index (PUCAI) and for the TUMMY-UC. She has been an advisory board member or consultant for Abbvie, Amgen, BristolMyersSquibb, Janssen, Lilly, Merck, Pfizer, Takeda, and has received speaker fees from Abbvie, Janssen, Takeda. David Mack is co-owner of Biotagenics Inc. Kevan Jacobson has been on Advisory boards of Abbvie Canada, Janssen Canada, Amgen, Merck Canada, Mylan Pharmaceuticals, Viatris, and Mckesson Canada. He has been on the speaker’s bureau of Abbvie Canada and Janssen Canada. He has received investigator-initiated research support from Abbvie Canada and Janssen Canada. He has stock options for Engene. Geoffrey Nguyen has served on advisory boards for Abbvie Canada and Takeda Canada. Laura Targownik has received research funding from AbbVie Canada, Takeda Canada, Sandoz Canada, Amgen Canada, Gilead Canada, Roche Canada and Pfizer Canada, and has been on Advisory Boards for Janssen Canada, AbbVie Canada, Takeda Canada, Pfizer Canada, Merck Canada, Roche Canada, Sandoz Canada, Organon Canada, Fresesnius Kabi Canada, Eli Lilly Canada, and Amgen Canada. Charles Bernstein is supported by the Bingham Chair in Gastroenterology. He has served on advisory Boards for AbbVie Canada, Amgen Canada, Bristol Myers Squibb Canada, Eli Lilly Canada, Ferring Canada, JAMP Pharmaceuticals, Pendopharm Canada, Janssen Canada, Sandoz Canada, Takeda Canada, and Pfizer Canada. He has educational grants from Abbvie Canada, Amgen Canada, Bristol Myers Squibb Canada, Eli Lilly Canada, Organon Canada, Pfizer Canada, Takeda Canada, and Janssen Canada. He is on the speaker’s panel for Abbvie Canada, Janssen Canada, Pfizer Canada, and Takeda Canada. He has received research funding from Abbvie Canada, Amgen Canada, Pfizer Canada, Sandoz Canada, and Takeda Canada. Jennifer Jones has received honoraria for speaking and consulting for AbbVie, Janssen, Pfizer, Shire, and Takeda. Sanjay Murthy has previously participated in advisory board meetings for AbbVie, Janssen, Takeda, Pfizer, Shire and Ferring and as a speaker at educational events sponsored by Janssen, AbbVie and Pfizer. Eric Benchimol holds the Northbridge Financial Corporation Chair in Inflammatory Bowel Disease, a joint Hospital-University Chair between the University of Toronto, The Hospital for Sick Children, and the SickKids Foundation. He has acted as a consultant for the Dairy Farmers of Ontario and McKesson Canada for matters unrelated to medications used to treat inflammatory bowel disease. He has also acted as a consultant for the Canadian Agency for Drugs and Technology in Health. The authors report no other conflicts of interest in this work., (© 2024 Kuenzig et al.)