P69 Shortening the journey to diagnosis in crohn’s disease? Characteristics and outcomes of a prospectively collected inception cohort

IntroductionDelayed diagnosis of Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) is common, particularly in Crohn’s disease (CD). In CD, delays are associated with higher incidence of surgery and prevalence of fibrotic and penetrating complications. A recent rapid evidence review by Crohn’s and Colitis UK found 21–26% of those diagnosed with CD waited more than 12m, with an average time to diagnosis of across four studies of 2.3–13m.In our unit, outpatient delays are growing. Urgent outpatient referrals wait 12 weeks and straight to test colonoscopy takes 8 weeks. In response, we’ve implemented a rapid access ‘IBD Inception’ pathway. Here, we present characteristics and outcomes from patients diagnosed with CD via this pathway.MethodsPatients with suspected IBD were triaged into an ‘Inception’ clinic using symptoms and faecal calprotectin (FCP) between Jan 21–Jan 23. Presenting data and clinical outcomes were collected prospectively.Results170 patients were diagnosed with CD, 153 of whom had a clearly defined symptom onset. Median symptom duration at presentation was significantly higher in CD than UC (9m vs 4m, p=