Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) prefer oral tablets over other modes of medicine administration.

Objectives

With increasing treatment choices for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), patients' preferences should be considered to limit non-adherence. We explored patients' preferences for route, form and frequency of medication administration, and factors influencing these choices.

Methods

Patients rated acceptability of different forms of medication on 10-point Likert scales and preferences for highest acceptable frequency.

Results

Of 298 patients significantly more found tablets (91%) to be highly acceptable compared to granules (64%), infusions (33%) and subcutaneous injections (34%; p < 0.0001). The acceptable frequency for tablets was considered as daily by 63.5% and several times daily by 32.3%. Participants preferred nurse delivered over self-administered injections (median score 8 vs 5, p < 0.0001) and hospital-based infusions over infusions at home (median score 7 vs 5, p = 0.001). Patients with previous or current anti-TNF exposure were more accepting of self-administered injections (50.5% vs 23.3% anti-TNF naive; p < 0.001), more accepting of home based infusions (43.7% vs 28.0%; p = 0.001) and more accepting of hospital-based infusions (57.2% vs 37.8%; p = 0.02).

Conclusion

Most patients with IBD prefer tablets. Those patients who already experienced biological agents, had a high level of acceptance for subcutaneous and intravenous forms of medication.