Disability in IBD: The devil is in the details

✍ Scribed by Joseph Sellin

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2010
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 55 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1078-0998
• DOI: 10.1002/ibd.21014

✦ Synopsis

Disability in IBD: The Devil Is in the Details

Ask a gastroenterologist ''How many of your patients with IBD are disabled?'' and the answers may vary from <5% to >30%.

It is surprising how little is known about disability in patients with IBD. As Peyrin-Biroulet et al 1 point out, there are few studies on IBD-related disability compared to other chronic inflammatory diseases such as multiple sclerosis.

Even advocacy organizations such as the Crohn's and Colitis Foundation of America (CCFA) have little information on the extent of disability of its membership.

Peyrin-Biroulet et al propose to develop a standardized tool for IBD disability. This is part of a major World Health Organization initiative of developing what are termed International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF) Core Sets for various diseases. The IBD initiative follows similar projects in other chronic conditions including multiple sclerosis, traumatic brain injury, ischemic heart disease, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and amputations. It is important to note that, in many regards, IBD is quite different from these other conditions. IBD follows a less predictable course marked by exacerbation and remission.

Establishing a consensus definition of disability would be of great benefit to the IBD community. It could: