Motivation to pursue anti-TNFα treatment in patients with Crohn's disease - the SPACE motivation study.

Background: Crohn's disease (CD) is a chronic disorder requiring long-term treatment. However, up to 20% of patients interrupt temporarily or permanently anti-TNFα. Primary aim was to identify internal and external factors influencing patient's motivation to pursue anti-TNFα in active CD.

Methods: This was a French, multicentre, prospective study enrolling CD patients on anti-TNFα therapy since more than 3 months. Patients completed the Satisfaction of Patients with Crohn's Disease questionnaire (SPACE-Q) and other patient-reported-outcome tools at inclusion visit, and after 6 and 12 months.

Results: A total of 274 patients were included: 146 (53.3%) received adalimumab, while 128 (46.7%) infliximab. Most patients (78%) were still treated with anti-TNFα 12 months after enrolment. Patients' perception of necessity (p = 0.01) and concerns (p<0.0001) regarding medication, evaluated through the Belief about Medicines Questionnaire (BMQ), and expectation confirmation towards treatment convenience (p = 0.02), towards efficacy (p = 0.04), and treatment satisfaction (p = 0.03) according to SPACE-Q, correlated with motivation to pursue treatment. Patients with higher treatment satisfaction (p = 0.0004), stronger belief in treatment necessity (p<0.0001) and fewer concerns (p = 0.0002) were more likely to be very motivated.

Conclusion: Treatment satisfaction, treatment necessity, and concerns are correlated to motivation to pursue anti-TNFα. Specific questions focused on these patients' perceptions could help physicians to identify patients at risk of non-adherence and prevent therapy interruption.