Long MD, Porter CQ, Sandler RS et al. Clin Gastroenterol Hepatol 2009;7:549–53.
This investigation evaluated rates of cervical screening in women with IBD over a 10-year period in 33 US states. Overall, 70.4% of >9000 IBD cases underwent cervical testing at least once every 3 years, compared with 65.2% of >25000 control subjects. The authors’ conclusion was that women with IBD were tested for cervical abnormalities at suboptimal rates; however, the rate of cervical testing was not less than that for the controls.
Using the PharMetrics Patient-Centric Database (IMS Health, Watertown, MA, USA), data on 9356 women with IBD and 25849 matched controls from the period 1996–2005 were accessed. This database included insurance claims from 87 health plans from 33 US states. All females aged 20–64 years with ≥36 months of continuous health plan enrollment were eligible for inclusion in the study. Controls were matched to patients by age, geographic residence, insurance plan, and Medicaid exposure. Chronic immunosuppressant use was defined as filling at least two prescriptions of purine analogues, methotrexate, or anti-tumor necrosis factor-α agents – a somewhat liberal definition of chronic use.