An app-based digital therapeutic has shown significant efficacy in reducing symptoms and enhancing the quality of life, work productivity, and health literacy among patients with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). These findings are from the ColoFuture Study, presented at the UEG Week 2023.
Key Findings:
- The treatment of IBS often involves a multidisciplinary approach tailored to individual patients, including medication, education, dietary therapy, and psychotherapy. However, many IBS patients don’t receive adequate treatment due to limited availability.
- The study, led by L.M. Weiβer of HiDoc Technologies GmbH, investigated the effectiveness of a digital health application (DiGA) for IBS treatment. The app provided an in-app symptom journal and a personalized treatment plan, including nutrition therapy and psychotherapy.
- The study involved 378 adults with IBS in Germany. For 12 weeks, 188 patients used the DiGA, while 190 used a sham app with no additional health information.
- Results showed that 70.2% of patients using the DiGA experienced clinically relevant improvement in symptoms compared to 33.2% in the sham group. Quality of life also improved for 70.8% of DiGA users versus 19% of the sham group.
- The digital therapeutic offers a significant reduction in symptoms and improvement in the quality of life, work productivity, and health literacy. It provides a potential solution to the gap in health care for IBS patients, offering care effects independent of health care practitioners.