Early disease severity, evolution and clinical outcomes of IBD in Asia are similar to that of the West, a population based study spanning nine countries in Asia-Pacific shows.

Results from the ongoing Asia-Pacific Crohn’s and Colitis Epidemiology study involving 413 patients showed that almost one-third of Crohn’s Disease patients had structuring or penetrating complications at diagnosis.

And about one quarter had developed intestinal complications at one year, reported the authors including gastroenterologist Ola Niewiadomski from St Vincent’s Hospital in Melbourne in Gastroenterology.

Early surgical intervention was also high and a large number of patients still underwent intestinal resective surgery despite increasing use of immunosupressants.

Among the patients who had surgery three-quarters had surgery within the first year of diagnosis.

“Early disease course for CD can be as severe as in the West”, the study authors concluded.

The results may help develop therapeutic strategies aimed at modifying the clinical course of IBD and provide clear information to patients about disease progression, they added.