Role of hospitalization for inflammatory bowel disease in the post-biologic era

Abstract

Treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) often requires specialized care. While much of IBD care has shifted to the outpatient setting, hospitalizations remain a major site of healthcare utilization and a sizable proportion of patients with inflammatory bowel disease require hospitalization or surgery during their lifetime. In this review, we approach IBD care from the population-level with a specific focus on hospitalization for IBD, including the shifts from inpatient to outpatient care, the balance of emergency and elective hospitalizations, regionalization of specialty IBD care, and contribution of surgery and endoscopy to hospitalized care.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Hospitalization; Elective; Emergent surgery; Endoscopy

Core Tip: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD)-related hospitalizations are costly and have increased despite the introduction of advanced therapeutic agents. Over the past few decades, utilization of endoscopy and emergency surgery during hospital admissions have decreased, with a concomitant rise in elective bowel resections. With increased complexity of inpatient and outpatient management of IBD, improved care delivery and outcomes may consist of multidisciplinary teams led by IBD specialists, regionalization, and IBD-specific treatment plans.