Clinical course of ulcerative colitis: Frequent use of biologics and low colectomy rate first year after diagnosis—results from the IBSEN III inception cohort

Abstract

Background: The introduction of biologic therapies and the 'treat-to-target' treatment strategy may have changed the disease course of ulcerative colitis (UC). Aims: To describe the early disease course and disease outcome at 1-year follow-up in a population-based inception cohort of adult patients with newly diagnosed UC. Methods: The Inflammatory Bowel Disease in South-Eastern Norway (IBSEN) III study is a population-based inception cohort study with prospective follow-up. Patients newly diagnosed with inflammatory bowel disease during 2017-2019 were included. Patients ≥18 years at diagnosis of UC who attended the 1-year follow-up were investigated. We registered clinical, endoscopic and demographic data at diagnosis and 1-year follow-up. Results: We included 877 patients with UC (median age 36 years (range: 18-84), 45.8% female). At diagnosis, 39.2% presented with proctitis, 24.7% left-sided colitis and 36.0% extensive colitis. At the 1-year follow-up, 13.9% experienced disease progression, and 14.5% ha