P718 Discrepancies between patients’ preferences and physicians’ preference perception for oral formulations: A real-life survey

Abstract Background In ulcerative colitis (UC) low adherence to treatment is a predictor for disease flares. Patients’ (patients) preference for certain galenic formulations may play a role in adherence to treatment. The present research aims at comparing patients’ preference vs. gastroenterologists’ (GEs) assumed preferences for tablets vs. granules. Methods Between May and October 2017, GEs and patients with mild to moderately active UC from France, UK, Spain and Germany participated in an online survey. The investigation was exploratory in nature and descriptive results are presented. Results Of the 380 patients who participated in the survey, 255 (67%) were treated with tablets and 125 (33%) with granules. Of these, 223 (59%) patients had previously received a different formulation, whilst 157 (41%) had never switched. Patients (n = 380) believe that only 30% of the treatment decisions are based on their own preference. Patients’ preference appears to be driven by the appearance (format, shape, size, and colour—44%), number of units per administration (39%) and number of administrations per day (16%). GEs’ (n = 159) preference is instead driven by the number of administrations per day (55%), number of units per day (26%) and tablet size (19%). Overall, 225 (67%) patients preferred a tablet formulation, 110 (29%) preferred granules and 15 (4%) other formulations. According to GEs’ perception, only 49% of patients prefer tablets, 38% prefer granules and 13% have no preference. Among patients receiving tablets (n = 255), 18 (7%) perceived their treatment to be not at all effective vs. 16 (13%) of patients receiving granules (n = 125). Similar proportion of patients in the two groups perceived their treatment as extremely effective (48% vs. 46%, respectively). Overall, 72 (19%) of patients asked their doctor for a treatment change either because they did not like the current formulation (n = 46, 64%), the treatment was perceived as no longer effective (n = 14, 19%) or for other reasons (n = 12, 17%). In most of cases, the change was initiated by the GE mainly based on the perception that a different formulation would be better for the patient (81%). After the switch from tablets to granules, up to 44% of patients expressed negative feelings for the new formulation, while this was limited to 25% when the switch was from granules to tablets. Conclusions A high number of patients believe their preference for galenic formulation is not taken into consideration