Practice Variations in the Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease Between Pediatric and Adult Gastroenterologists.
BACKGROUND
Different practice guidelines and consensus statements for both pediatric- and adult-onset inflammatory bowel disease exist. Although variations in medical care among gastroenterologists are common, it is unknown whether there are fundamental differences between disciplines. The primary aim of the present study was to investigate differences in common practices across disciplines.


METHODS
This was a prospective, questionnaire-based survey of gastroenterologists attending gastroenterology meetings in Israel. The questionnaire covered attitudes to medical resources, diagnostic and follow-up measures as well as therapeutic approaches.


RESULTS
Overall, 120 (60%) of the approached adult gastroenterologists (AGs) and 49 (75%) pediatric gastroenterologists (PGs) completed the questionnaire. The 2 groups differed significantly in various practice areas. Pediatric patients are seen more frequently and for longer appointments. PGs tend to assess thiopurine metabolites (96% vs 47%) more often during treatment. There is a significant variation in practice between groups concerning infectious serology status and vaccinations. Methotrexate in Crohn patients is used more commonly by PGs (55% vs 22%). Long-term combination therapy of thiopurines and anti-tumor necrosis factorα agents is used more often by AGs. In patients with ulcerative colitis AGs use oral 5-aminosalicylic acid once daily (51% vs 21%) and add rectal agents from the first day of treatment (72% vs 35%) more often as compared with PGs.


CONCLUSIONS
This study demonstrates that common practices in inflammatory bowel disease patients differ significantly between adult and pediatric practitioners. These findings call for investigating the reasons for these differences and promoting strategies to diminish these gaps.
*Institute of Gastroenterology, Nutrition, and Liver Diseases, Schneider Children's Hospital †Department of Gastroenterology, Rabin Medical Center, Petach-Tikva ‡Sackler School of Medicine, Tel-Aviv University, Tel-Aviv, Israel.
Amit
A
Assa
Irit
I
Avni
Ofer
O
Ben-Bassat
Yaron
Y
Niv
Raanan
R
Shamir
D000328:Adult; D002648:Child; D019468:Disease Management; D005260:Female; D000072102:Gastroenterologists / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D006801:Humans; D015212:Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / Q000188:drug therapy*; D007557:Israel; D008297:Male; D010372:Pediatrics / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D010818:Practice Patterns, Physicians' / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011446:Prospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires