Management of Inflammatory Bowel Disease during Pregnancy and Breastfeeding Varies Widely: A Need for Further Education.

Background. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) affects patients in their young reproductive years. Women with IBD require maintenance therapies during pregnancy and breastfeeding. However, physician management of IBD during pregnancy and breastfeeding has not been well characterized. Objective. To characterize physician perceptions and management of IBD during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Methods. A cross-sectional survey of Canadian physicians who are involved in the care of women with IBD was conducted. The survey included multiple-choice and Likert scale questions about perceptions and practice patterns regarding the management of IBD during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Results. 183 practicing physicians completed the questionnaire: 97/183 (53.0%) gastroenterologists; 75/183 (41.0%) general practitioners; and 11/183 (6.0%) other physicians. Almost half (87/183, 47.5%) of the physicians felt comfortable managing pregnant IBD patients. For specified IBD medications, proportions of physicians who indicated they would continue them during pregnancy were as follows: sulfasalazine, 47.4%; oral mesalamine, 67.0%; topical mesalamine, 70.3%; oral prednisone, 68.0%; topical prednisone, 78.0%; oral budesonide, 61.6%; topical budesonide, 75.0%; ciprofloxacin, 15.3%; metronidazole, 31.4%; azathioprine, 57.1%; methotrexate, 2.8%; infliximab, 55.6%; adalimumab, 78.1%. Similar proportions of physicians would continue these medications during breastfeeding. A higher proportion of gastroenterologists than nongastroenterologists indicated appropriate use of these IBD medications during pregnancy and breastfeeding. Conclusions. Physician management of IBD during pregnancy and breastfeeding varies widely. Relative to other physicians, responses of gastroenterologists more frequently reflected best practices pertaining to medications for control of IBD during pregnancy and breastfeeding. There is a need for further education regarding the management of IBD during pregnancy and breastfeeding.

Adherence and barriers to H. pylori treatment in Arctic Canada.

INTRODUCTION: Helicobacter pylori infection is an emerging health concern to some northern Canadian Aboriginal communities and their clinicians. Clinicians in the north perceive H. pylori infection to be a major clinical problem because they find H. pylori infection in many patients evaluated for common stomach complaints, leading to frequent demand for treatment, which often fails. Moreover, public health authorities identified the need for information to develop locally appropriate H. pylori control strategies. We described adherence and identified barriers to completing treatment among H. pylori-positive participants in a community-based project inspired by local concerns about H. pylori infection risks. METHODS: In 2008, 110 H. pylori-positive participants (diagnosed by a breath test, histopathology and/or culture) of the Aklavik H. pylori project were randomised to standard-of-care or sequential treatment. We ascertained adherence by interviewing participants using a structured questionnaire. We estimated adherence frequencies as the proportion of participants who reported taking either 100% of doses (perfect adherence) or ≥80% of doses (good adherence). To compare the proportion with perfect or good adherence in subgroups, we report proportion differences and 95% confidence intervals (CI). RESULTS: Of 87 participants who were interviewed, 64% reported perfect adherence and 80% reported good adherence. We observed more frequent perfect adherence for: standard therapy (67%) versus sequential (62%); males (76%) versus females (52%); participants 40-77 years (79%) versus 17-39 (50%). Proportion differences were 5% (CI: -15, 25) for standard versus sequential therapy; 23% (CI: 4, 43) for male versus female; and 29% (CI: 10, 48) for 40-77 versus 15-39 years for perfect adherence. Of the 29 participants who reported poor adherence (<80% of doses taken), the following barriers to treatment were reported: changed mind about taking treatment (24%), consumption of alcoholic beverages (18%), nausea (18%), forgetfulness (12%), stomach pain (12%), difficulty in swallowing pills (6%), no reason (6%) or bad taste of the pills (6%). CONCLUSION: This analysis suggests that adherence to treatment for eliminating H. pyori infection may vary by regimen and may be influenced by socio-demographic factors. These findings add to the small body of evidence pertaining to adherence to H. pylori treatment in Arctic Aboriginal communities. On-going research in additional northern Canadian communities will accumulate data for developing recommendations to improve adherence for treatment to eliminate H. pylori infection.