A survey of patient informational preferences when choosing between medical and surgical therapy for ulcerative colitis: a sub-study from the DISCUSS project

AIM: People living with ulcerative colitis (UC) have two broad treatment avenues, namely medical or surgical therapy. The choice between these can depend on patient preference as well as the receipt of relevant information. The aim of this study was to define the informational needs of patients with UC.

METHOD: A postal survey was designed to capture respondent demographics, treatment experienced within the previous 12 months and informational preferences by rating a long list of items. It was delivered through two hospitals that provide tertiary inflammatory bowel disease services. Descriptive analyses were performed to describe demographics and experiences. Principal component analysis was carried out using a varimax rotation to investigate informational needs.

RESULTS: A total of 101 responses were returned (20.1% response rate). The median age of respondents was 45 years and the median time since diagnosis was 10 years. Control preferences skewed towards shared (42.6%) or patient-led but clinician-informed (35.6%). Decision regret was low for the population (median 12.5/100, range 0-100). Key informational needs related to medical therapy were benefits and risks of long-term therapy, burden of hospital attendance, reproductive health, need for steroid treatment and impact on personal life. For surgery, these were stoma information, effect on daily life, effect on sexual and reproductive health, risks and benefits and disruption of life due to surgery.

CONCLUSION: This study has identified key areas for discussion when counselling patients about treatment decisions around medical therapy and surgery for UC.