Burden of chronic corticosteroid use among patients with ulcerative colitis initiated on targeted treatment or conventional therapy in the United States.

BACKGROUND

Chronic corticosteroid use is common in ulcerative colitis (UC); however, real-world evidence of its burden to the health care system is limited.

OBJECTIVE

To quantify chronic corticosteroid use burden in UC.

METHODS

Adults with UC initiated on targeted treatments (ie, biologics and advanced/small molecule therapies) or conventional therapy (index date) were selected from a deidentified US insurance claims database (January 1, 2004, to September 30, 2021). Targeted treatments and conventional therapy initiators were stratified into chronic (>90 days corticosteroid use 12 months post-index [landmark]) and nonchronic corticosteroid users. Patient characteristics 12 months pre-index were balanced with inverse probability of treatment weighting. Health care resource use, costs (US$ 2021), and corticosteroid-related complications were compared in the 12 months post-landmark.

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study suggest that chronic corticosteroid use is associated with substantial clinical and economic burden and may indicate unmet needs in the management of UC progression.