title: [Pharmacotherapy in patients with ulcerative colitis].
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Patients with ulcerative colitis experience various impairments. The pharmacological treatment of the disease comprises 5-aminosalicylic acid, corticosteroids as well as immunomodulatory and biological agents. Little self-reported data exist on the prescription of these drugs.
  
  
  METHODS
  This cross-sectional study was conducted in 2005 as a postal survey in different regions of Germany [Kiel/Lübeck, Halle (Saale), Minden, Regensburg]. Patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were recruited from specialised gastroenterological practices, university outpatient clinics, and the member registry of a prominent patient organisation (DCCV). Participants returned a questionnaire including established items and scales on physical and psychosocial well-being as well as the self-reported current medication.
  
  
  RESULTS
  A total of 444 patients with ulcerative colitis returned the questionnaires. Most of the participants were female, had a high level of school education and were currently employed. Twenty-eight percent of the participants reported to receive corticosteroids and 71 % reported a current treatment with 5-aminosalicylic acid. Approximately one quarter of our study population reported a treatment with immunomodulatory agents. Analgesics were reported to be prescribed only in 15 % of the patients, primarily in patients with depressive symptoms. Patients recruited from specialised gastroenterological practices and university outpatient clinics were more likely to report the prescription of 5-aminosalicylic acid and immunomodulatory drugs than members of the patient organisation. Only 7 % of our patients received loperamide, however, probiotics (12 %) and complementary agents (36 %) seem to have an important role with regard to prevalence of intake. About 40 % of women but only 28 % of the men reported to use complementary agents. Persons with a duration of illness of less than 11 years (median split) were almost twice as likely to take corticosteroids than persons with a longer duration of ulcerative colitis.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Our results suggest an estimation of prescription rates in ulcerative colitis. However, they raise new questions, for example, concerning a potential underuse of immunomodulatory agents in this patient population. With regard to the identified differences in prescription rates according to psychosocial characteristics further studies are needed to examine these relationships.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Sozialmedizin, Universität zu Lübeck. m.scherer@uke.de
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Scherer
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hardt
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Blozik
authors.forename: J C
authors.initials: JC
authors.lastname: Preiss
authors.forename: B
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Bokemeyer
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hüppe
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Raspe
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D001688:Biological Products / Q000627:therapeutic use; D003093:Colitis, Ulcerative / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D005858:Germany / Q000453:epidemiology; D006801:Humans; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008297:Male; D019804:Mesalamine / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D008875:Middle Aged; D055656:Prescriptions / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000305:Adrenal Cortex Hormones; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D001688:Biological Products; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D019804:Mesalamine