This study's objectives were to examine and compare the cost-effectiveness of biologic and non-biologic therapies in the improvement of the health-related quality of life (HRQoL) of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Saudi Arabia.
This retrospective cohort study analyzed data from the medical records of patients with IBD treated at a tertiary-care hospital in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Drug utilization costs and HRQoL scores were evaluated at baseline and after six months of treatment. Patients' HRQoL was measured using the Arabic version of the standardized EuroQol 5 Dimensional 3 Level (EQ-5D-3L) questionnaire with a visual analog scale (VAS).
Eighty-seven patients with Crohn's disease (CD) and 69 patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) were included in the study (
Information bias cannot be ruled out, as this investigation was a retrospective cohort study with a relatively small sample that was not randomized.
The results of this analysis can serve as a foundation to introduce HRQoL-based recommendations for the use of biologics in the management of IBD in Saudi Arabia.