%0 Journal Article
%T An Insight into Patients' Perspectives of Ulcerative Colitis Flares via Analysis of Online Public Forum Posts.
%A Rubin DT
%A Torres J
%A Dotan I
%A Xu LT
%A Modesto I
%A Woolcott JC
%A Gardiner S
%A Sands BE
%J Inflamm Bowel Dis
%V 0
%N 0
%D 2023 Nov 2
%M 37934789
%F 7.29
%R 10.1093/ibd/izad247
%X <B>BACKGROUND: </B>The knowledge of patients' perceptions of factors contributing to ulcerative colitis (UC) flares is limited; however, online patient communications could offer insight. This analysis aimed to identify the most frequent patient-reported triggers and symptoms of UC flares, which could highlight potential interventions for outcome improvement.<BR><B>METHODS: </B>Online posts written pre- and postflare by patients with UC on 8 public forums in 6 countries between January 1, 2019, and February 14, 2021, were identified using flare-related keywords. Flare-related posts were captured and Netbase Quid™ artificial intelligence text analytics and natural language processing software were used to semantically map and identify commonly discussed themes and topics (subsets of themes).<BR><B>RESULTS: </B>Of >27 000 patient posts, 12 900 were identified as flare related. The most frequent themes were treatment experiences and side effects (28.5% of posts), followed by flare symptoms (22.9% of posts). The most frequent topic was emotional/peer support (9.4% of posts), followed by experiences with mesalamine (and other oral/rectal formulations; 8.0% of posts), and dietary recommendations (6.0% of posts). Stress and anxiety were the most frequently reported flare triggers (37.9% of posts), followed by diet (28.4% of posts). Stress and anxiety were frequently identified as both triggers for, and general symptoms of, flare. Blood in the stool was the most discussed flare indicator (57.8% of posts).<BR><B>CONCLUSIONS: </B>Frequently discussed patient-perceived triggers of UC flares included diet, stress, and anxiety. These results suggest that physicians could incorporate a broader and more holistic approach to UC monitoring and management than is currently practiced.<BR>The patient-reported triggers of flares that were most frequently discussed in online forum posts are not routinely monitored during ulcerative colitis management, emphasizing the need for physicians to incorporate a broader, more holistic approach to ulcerative colitis management than currently practiced.