Search

Background: Patient education forms a cornerstone of management of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The Internet has opened new avenues for information gathering., Aim: To determine the relationship between different information sources and patient knowledge and anxiety in patients with IBD., Methods: The use of information sources in patients with IBD was examined via questionnaire. Anxiety was assessed with the hospital anxiety and depression scale and disease-related patient knowledge with the Crohn's and colitis knowledge score questionnaires. Associations between these outcomes and demographics, disease-related factors, and use of different information sources were analysed using linear regression analysis., Results: Of 307 patients (165 Crohn's disease, 142 ulcerative colitis) 60.6% were female. Participants used the hospital IBD team (82.3%), official leaflets (59.5%), and official websites (53.5%) most frequently in contrast to alternative health websites (9%). University education (P < 0.001), use of immunosuppressants (P = 0.025), Crohn's and Colitis UK membership (P = 0.001), frequent use of the hospital IBD team (P = 0.032), and frequent use of official information websites (P = 0.005) were associated with higher disease-related patient knowledge. Female sex (P = 0.004), clinically active disease (P < 0.001), frequent use of general practitioners (P = 0.014), alternative health websites (homoeopathy, nutritionists, etc.) (P = 0.004) and random links (P = 0.016) were independently associated with higher anxiety., Conclusions: Different patient information sources are associated with better knowledge or worse anxiety levels. Face-to-face education and written information materials remain the first line of patient education. Patients should be guided towards official information websites and warned about the association between the use of alternative health websites or random links and anxiety., (© 2016 John Wiley & Sons Ltd.)

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often occurs in women of childbearing age and requires complex treatment decision. IBD can have profound influences on fertility, the course of a pregnancy, child birth and lactation. Many women with IBD remain voluntarily childless and patient knowledge of pregnancy related issues is generally poor, which can lead to negative views regarding IBD treatments. To achieve good clinical outcomes for mother and infant a balance has to be struck between the risks of any IBD treatment and the risks of untreated IBD. The advent of the biological age has brought another level of complexity. While more data demonstrating the safe use in pregnancy have recently emerged, effects on infants continue for up to 6 months with important implications on vaccination plans. This review discusses recent advances in the field of IBD and reproduction.

Background: Inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) require complex therapeutic decisions and life choices concerning pregnancy, but little is known about patient's knowledge of IBD and its treatment before and during pregnancy., Aim: To develop a novel tool (Crohn's and Colitis Pregnancy Knowledge Score 'CCPKnow') to assess knowledge of pregnancy-related issues in IBD. The validated tool was then applied to determine knowledge in patients., Method: Discriminate ability of 'CCPKnow' was validated in four groups with different levels of IBD knowledge. Reliability and readability were tested by Cronbach-α and Flesch-Kencaid. Construct validity was subsequently assessed against general IBD knowledge (CCKnow) in 145 women with IBD. Associations between patient factors and knowledge were studied., Results: Median CCPKnow scores differed significantly between the validation groups (P < 0.001). CCPKnow displayed excellent internal consistency, reliability (Cronbach-α 0.94), readability (reading age 9 years) and close correlation with CCKnow (Spearman's ρ 0.64; P < 0.001). Of 145 patients, 44.8% had poor, 27.6% adequate, 17.3% good and only 10.3% very good knowledge. Better knowledge was associated with Caucasian ethnicity, higher income, having a partner, having children, Crohn's and Colitis Association membership, longer disease duration and Crohn's disease., Conclusions: Crohn's and Colitis Pregnancy Knowledge Score, a novel knowledge assessment tool of pregnancy and IBD, demonstrated excellent test characteristics. We found that nearly half of the women with IBD had poor knowledge, identifying a pressing need for better education., (© 2012 Blackwell Publishing Ltd.)

Background Smoking demonstrates divergent effects in Crohn's disease ( CD) and ulcerative colitis ( UC). Smoking frequency is greater in CD and deleterious to its disease course. Conversely, UC is primarily a disease of nonsmokers and ex-smokers, with reports of disease amelioration in active smoking. Aim To determine the prevalence of smoking and its effects on disease progression and surgery in a well-characterised cohort of inflammatory bowel diseases ( IBD) patients. Methods Patients with smoking data of the Sydney IBD Cohort were included. Demographic, phenotypic, medical, surgical and hospitalisation data were analysed and reported on the basis of patient smoking status. Results 1203 IBD patients were identified comprising 626 CD and 557 UC with 6725 and 6672 patient-years of follow-up, respectively. CD patients were more likely to smoke than UC patients (19.2% vs. 10.2%, P < 0.001). A history of smoking in CD was associated with an increased proportional surgery rate (45.8% vs. 37.8%, P = 0.045), requirement for IBD-related hospitalisation ( P = 0.009) and incidence of peripheral arthritis (29.8% vs. 22.0%, P = 0.027). Current smokers with UC demonstrated reduced corticosteroid utilisation (24.1% vs. 37.5%, P = 0.045), yet no reduction in the rates of colectomy (3.4% vs. 6.6%, P = 0.34) or hospital admission ( P = 0.25) relative to nonsmokers. Ex-smokers with UC required proportionately greater immunosuppressive (36.2% vs. 26.3%, P = 0.041) and corticosteroid (43.7% vs. 34.5%, P = 0.078) therapies compared with current and never smokers. Conclusions This study confirms the detrimental effects of smoking in CD, yet failed to demonstrate substantial benefit from smoking in UC. These data should encourage all patients with IBD to quit smoking. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]