Early corticosteroids requirement after the diagnosis of ulcerative colitis diagnosis can predict a more severe long-term course of the disease - a nationwide study of 1035 patients.

Background: There are limited data regarding clinical outcomes in ulcerative colitis (UC) patients who require early corticosteroids (CS) use.

Objective: To evaluate the rate of early CS utilisation (within 30 days of diagnosis) as a predictive marker for long-term outcomes, colectomy and CS dependency, in a population-based cohort of incident UC cases.

Methods: Nationwide data were obtained from the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system for the period 2001-2011. Incident UC cases were identified. A retrospective cohort design and time-to-event survival analysis were used to track outcomes of interest. Cox regression multivariate analysis was employed.

Results: One thousand and thirty-five newly diagnosed patients with UC were identified and included in the analysis; 236 (23%) of those patients required early CS therapy. Patients were followed-up over a median time of 4.7 years (IQR 2.8-6.8) after UC diagnosis. The 5-year cumulative probability of requiring colectomy varied significantly by early CS use status (13% among early CS users compared to 4% among those who did not require early CS treatment, P < 0.001). Similar variation in the 5-year cumulative probability of CS dependency by early CS status was observed. Early CS users were more likely to require colectomy 2.9 (CI 1.7-5.0, P < 0.001) and to become CS dependent 4.5 (95% CI 3.6-5.7, P < 0.001) than non-users.

Conclusions: Early CS use can help identify those patients who have a more active disease course of UC. Recognising this can be among the indicators that can help physicians identify patients who may require early initiation of more aggressive therapy.