title: Treatment of inflammatory bowel disease in Asia: the results of a multinational web-based survey in the 2(nd) Asian Organization of Crohn's and Colitis (AOCC) meeting in Seoul.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) management guidelines have been released from Western countries, but no adequate data on the application of these guidelines in Asian countries and no surveys on the treatment of IBD in real practice exist. Since there is a growing need for a customized consensus for IBD treatment in Asian countries, Asian Organization of Crohn's and Colitis performed a multinational survey of medical doctors who treat IBD patients in Asian countries.
  
  
  METHODS
  A questionnaire was developed between August 2013 and November 2013. It was composed of 4 domains: personal information, IBD diagnosis, IBD treatment, and quality of IBD care. Upon completion of the questionnaire, a web-based survey was conducted between 17 March 2014 and 12 May 2014.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In total, 353 medical doctors treating IBD from ten Asian countries responded to the survey. This survey data suggested a difference in available medical treatments (budesonide, tacrolimus) among Asian countries. Therapeutic strategies regarding refractory IBD (acute severe ulcerative colitis [UC] refractory to intravenous steroids and refractory Crohn's disease [CD]) and active UC were coincident, however, induction therapies for mild to moderate inflammatory small bowel CD are different among Asian countries.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  This survey demonstrated that current therapeutic approaches and clinical management of IBD vary among Asian countries. Based on these results and discussions, we hope that optimal management guidelines for Asian IBD patients will be developed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Sapporo Medical University, School of Medicine, Sapporo, Japan.
authors.forename: Hiroshi
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Nakase
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Korea University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Bora
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Keum
authors.affiliation: Department of Gastroenterology, Asan Medical Center, University of Ulsan College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Byoung Duk
authors.initials: BD
authors.lastname: Ye
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Yonsei University College of Medicine, Seoul, Korea.
authors.forename: Soo Jung
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Park
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Konyang University College of Medicine, Daejeon, Korea.
authors.forename: Hoon Sup
authors.initials: HS
authors.lastname: Koo
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, Hanyang University Guri Hosptial, Guri, Korea.
authors.forename: Chang Soo
authors.initials: CS
authors.lastname: Eun
keywords: A web-survey; Asia; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Treatment