Patients With Ileal Pouch-Anal Anastomosis Have Decreased Bowel Frequency on Glucagon-Like Peptide-1 Receptor Agonist Therapy.

INTRODUCTION

High bowel frequency after ileal pouch-anal anastomosis (IPAA) causes significant symptom burden. We aimed to evaluate the impact of glucagon-like peptide-1 receptor agonists (GLP-1 RAs) in this setting.

METHODS

We conducted a retrospective cohort study of patients with previous IPAA for ulcerative colitis who were treated with a GLP-1 RA (n = 20). Daily bowel frequency at baseline and 12 weeks after GLP-1 RA initiation was assessed. We also assessed the proportion of patients achieving ≥30% reduction in bowel frequency and ≤8 bowel movements per day.

RESULTS

The median daily bowel frequency decreased from 9.0 (interquartile range [IQR], 6.0-12.5) at baseline to 6.0 (IQR, 5.0-8.1) at the 12-week follow-up ( P < 0.01). Overall, 7 of 20 patients achieved a ≥30% reduction in bowel frequency, and 15 of 20 had ≤8 bowel movements per day.

DISCUSSION: In this retrospective cohort, we provide further evidence for the potential role of GLP-1 RAs in the management of high bowel frequency after IPAA.