Abstract

Background/Aims
The aim of this study was to determine the actual practice patterns of clinicians caring for Korean patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs). Methods: Questionnaires, including te indications and doses of 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), corticosteroids, or azathioprine/6-mercaptopurine (AZA/6-MP), assessment of response, the surveillance method, and the interval for adverse effects, were distributed during the 2008 KASID annual lecture. Thirty questionnaires were collected. Results: Most of the responders (93.3%) were board-certified with sub-specialty training in gastroenterology. For active diseases, 43.3% of the responders escalated the dose of 5-ASA from conventional to maximal doses. Of the patients in disease remission, 36.7% were maintained on the conventional or a reduced dose for a fixed period of time. Corticosteroids were prescribed by dose-base (20/30 [66.7%]). In most cases, the starting dose was 40 mg/d (15/19 [78.9%]), and tapered within a 1 (43.3%) or 2 week interval (40.0%). There were various definitions of corticosteroid-refractoriness and -dependency among the responders. Most of the responders initiated AZA at 50 mg/d; 68.4% of the patients increased the dose by 25 mg and 55.6% of the patients increased the dose within a 4-week interval. For monitoring adverse events, such as leukopenia, 63.3% of the patients checked a complete blood count for 2 weeks in the 1st month of therapy. Conclusions: There were various patterns of practice in the treatment of Korean IBD patients, especially in terms of the prescribing patterns of drugs and assessment of response, which suggests that standard therapeutic guidelines of IBD should be established in Korea. (Intest Res 2009;7:79-85)

• Keywords: Inflammatory Bowel Diseases; Aminosalicylic Acids; Glucocorticoids; Azathioprine