• Corpus ID: 76583789

Biologic agents in the management of inflammatory bowel disease: is it worth it?

@inproceedings{Choy2015BiologicAI,
  title={Biologic agents in the management of inflammatory bowel disease: is it worth it?},
  author={Tommy Choy and John McLaren Howard},
  year={2015}
}

• T. Choy, J. Howard
• Published 2015
• Medicine

Crohn’s disease can affect any part of the GI tract, and the entire thickness of the intestinal wall is generally involved. Ulcerative colitis, on the other hand, is limited to the rectum and colon and the exterior layers of the intestinal wall are generally not affected. IBD is a lifelong disease that has a substantial impact on the quality of life of patients and has a tremendous impact on a patient’s wellbeing. There are currently no cures available for IBD and treatment is aimed towards keeping the patient symptom-free. 1 IBD is most commonly found in the developed world, although cases have begun appearing more frequently in developing countries. 2 Globally, Canada and Sweden have the highest incidence of both CD and UC. 2 It is estimated that more than 5000 cases of CD and 4000 cases of UC are diagnosed in Canada each year, with a total of more than 200,000 Canadians living with one of these diseases at any given time. The heavy burden that IBD imposes on patients in turn leads to substantial financial costs for the Canadian healthcare system. Due to the nature of IBD, these costs include both direct costs associated with treating the disease and indirect costs such as lost productivity and time missed from work. In a 2008 report by the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation of Canada, it was found that the indirect cost associated with IBD is approximately $1 billion dollars annually, with CD comprising roughly $600 million of that value due to its higher prevalence. 3 Direct medical costs for IBD in Canada are estimated at over 750 million, with CD accounting for two-thirds of that value. 3 Although these costs will continue to increase as the prevalence of IBD grows, the distribution of the direct medical costs have recently undergone significant changes due to the