Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records

Advanced therapies (AT), encompassing biologics and small molecules, are a common and important treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, these treatments pose a risk of reactivating latent infections and therefore require pre-treatment infection screening, but compliance with this sc...

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Main Authors: Michael Colwill, Arin Ward, Kevin Jacob, Richard Hall, Dara Rasasingam, Sarah O’Neill, Fiona Donovan, Jennifer Clough, Richard Pollok, Andrew Poullis
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-05-01
Series:Clinical Medicine
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211825000351
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author Michael Colwill
Arin Ward
Kevin Jacob
Richard Hall
Dara Rasasingam
Sarah O’Neill
Fiona Donovan
Jennifer Clough
Richard Pollok
Andrew Poullis
author_facet Michael Colwill
Arin Ward
Kevin Jacob
Richard Hall
Dara Rasasingam
Sarah O’Neill
Fiona Donovan
Jennifer Clough
Richard Pollok
Andrew Poullis
author_sort Michael Colwill
collection DOAJ
description Advanced therapies (AT), encompassing biologics and small molecules, are a common and important treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, these treatments pose a risk of reactivating latent infections and therefore require pre-treatment infection screening, but compliance with this screening has previously been reported to be poor. Clinical nurse specialists (CNS) and pharmacists play a key role in facilitating this screening and safely initiating AT, but are understaffed compared to national standards. Through retrospective review of electronic patient records at St George’s University Hospital, a tertiary IBD centre in London, UK, we evaluated the impact of staffing on rates of compliance with screening and time from prescription to administration of AT (TAT). 1,035 patients with IBD treated with an AT were identified, and we found a significant correlation between increased CNS staffing and improved screening compliance, as well as a numerical reduction in the TAT. Incidental findings were relatively low, with 8% of patients presenting positive results, all of whom had clinical risk factors. The study advocates for increased staffing and resources in IBD services to enhance patient safety and treatment efficacy.
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series Clinical Medicine
spelling doaj-art-9ebdcbf2b13c45a0a4e2caffcd481f582025-08-20T03:07:24ZengElsevierClinical Medicine1470-21182025-05-0125310031710.1016/j.clinme.2025.100317Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient recordsMichael Colwill0Arin Ward1Kevin Jacob2Richard Hall3Dara Rasasingam4Sarah O’Neill5Fiona Donovan6Jennifer Clough7Richard Pollok8Andrew Poullis9City St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK; Department of Gastroenterology, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT, UK; Corresponding author.City St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK; Department of Gastroenterology, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK; Department of Gastroenterology, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK; Department of Gastroenterology, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT, UKCity St George’s, University of London, Cranmer Terrace, London, SW17 0RE, UK; Department of Gastroenterology, St George’s University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Blackshaw Road, London, SW17 0QT, UKAdvanced therapies (AT), encompassing biologics and small molecules, are a common and important treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). However, these treatments pose a risk of reactivating latent infections and therefore require pre-treatment infection screening, but compliance with this screening has previously been reported to be poor. Clinical nurse specialists (CNS) and pharmacists play a key role in facilitating this screening and safely initiating AT, but are understaffed compared to national standards. Through retrospective review of electronic patient records at St George’s University Hospital, a tertiary IBD centre in London, UK, we evaluated the impact of staffing on rates of compliance with screening and time from prescription to administration of AT (TAT). 1,035 patients with IBD treated with an AT were identified, and we found a significant correlation between increased CNS staffing and improved screening compliance, as well as a numerical reduction in the TAT. Incidental findings were relatively low, with 8% of patients presenting positive results, all of whom had clinical risk factors. The study advocates for increased staffing and resources in IBD services to enhance patient safety and treatment efficacy.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211825000351Inflammatory bowel diseaseClinical nurse specialistAdvanced therapyScreening
spellingShingle Michael Colwill
Arin Ward
Kevin Jacob
Richard Hall
Dara Rasasingam
Sarah O’Neill
Fiona Donovan
Jennifer Clough
Richard Pollok
Andrew Poullis
Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
Clinical Medicine
Inflammatory bowel disease
Clinical nurse specialist
Advanced therapy
Screening
title Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
title_full Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
title_fullStr Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
title_full_unstemmed Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
title_short Advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists: A retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
title_sort advanced therapy screening in inflammatory bowel disease and the impact of clinical nurse specialists a retrospective analysis of electronic patient records
topic Inflammatory bowel disease
Clinical nurse specialist
Advanced therapy
Screening
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1470211825000351
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