Transition care in patients with IBD: The pediatric and the adult gastroenterologist's perspective. Results from a national survey.

BACKGROUND

Transition is a crucial process in the care of IBD patients, although it remains largely heterogeneous.

AIMS: To provide an overview of the transition process in Italy and to investigate the perspective of the paediatric and adult physicians.

METHODS

An online survey was developed by the Italian Group for Inflammatory Bowel Diseases (IG-IBD) and the Italian Society of Paediatric Gastroenterology, Hepatology and Nutrition (SIGENP).

RESULTS

104 physicians (62 paediatric and 42 adult gastroenterologists) participated to the survey. The disease status was ranked with the highest priority among the key elements of the transition process. The age of the patient was perceived with a higher priority by paediatric gastroenterologists than by adult ones (p < 0.01). In most cases, the transition was organized through one or more joint meetings. Only less than 25 % of responders reported to involve other professions during transition. The struggle in leaving paediatric setting was perceived as the main obstacle to an effective transition process. Paediatric IBD gastroenterologists ranked the struggle in leaving the paediatric setting and the attending physician as higher critical point than adult gastroenterologists.

CONCLUSIONS

The current survey provided a snapshot of the IBD transition process in Italy. The present findings highlight the need to embed transitional care in healthcare policy.