Review for 10.1186/s12876-023-02747-x (2023)

Title: Patients’ Perspectives on, Experience with and Concerns about Crohn's Disease: Insights
from Chinese Social Media
Version: 2 Date: 15 Feb 2023
Reviewer's report:
The study is very interesting and well conducted from a methodological point of view. IBDs
are chronic, multifactorial diseases comprising ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn's disease
(CD) with increasing prevalence worldwide. Treatment of symptoms of IBD consists of
immunosuppressive drugs, combined with a possibly most frequent surgical procedure in the
natural history of CD. Most patients requiring surgery are faced with intolerable manifestations
that complicate the disease such as intestinal obstruction, fistulas, perforations or strictures.
Therefore, in the management of these diseases it is necessary to objectify their health-related
quality of life (HRQoL) during the course of the disease. Even in China, it is necessary for the
medical class to be close to their patients, not leaving the primacy of disease information to
social media or the opinions of ordinary people. To do this, before any therapeutic measure,
the doctor must concern himself with the psychic as well as the clinical data of the disease. In
this regard the Inflammatory Bowel Disease Questionnaire The IBDQ is a disease-specific QoL
questionnaire is a valuable tool to avoid clinical disorientation of patients. It consists of 32 items,
divided into four domains: gut-related symptoms, systemic symptoms, emotional function, and
social function. Responses are rated on a seven-point scale with 1 being the worst function and
7 being the best function. The total IBDQ score gives a possible range of 32-224, with a higher
score indicating better QoL.
• The authors should therefore hint at the possible role of this tool in the discussion and also
promote it in the medical environment.
Russel MG, Pastoor CJ, Brandon S, et al. Validation of the Dutch translation of the
inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (IBDQ): a health-related quality of life questionnaire
in inflammatory bowel disease. Digestion 1997;58:282–8. 10.1159/000201455
• The authors should therefore better mention the gender differences in the psychological
acceptance of the disease among patients. It is known that women, having a more fragile profile
from a psychological point of view, tend to be more affected by the effects of the disease.
Truta B. The impact of inflammatory bowel disease on women's lives. Curr Opin Gastroenterol.
2021;37(4):306-312. doi:10.1097/MOG.0000000000000736
• Few words have been said about the pandemic, precisely in the country that is the cradle of the
Covid-19 infection. In general, the pandemic has further aggravated the degree of acceptance
of IBD and as a result of the lock down many patients have had to give up clinical checks and
treatments and this in more than one case has contributed to the worsening of the disease. This
has had a major impact on the disease-patient relationship. Since the study was done close to
the pandemic, the authors should take this factor into account and discuss it more in depth.
de Bock E, Filipe MD, Meij V, et al. Quality of life in patients with IBD during the COVID-19
pandemic in the Netherlands. BMJ Open Gastroenterol. 2021;8(1):e000670. doi:10.1136/
bmjgast-2021-000670