A virtual clinic increases anti-TNF dose intensification success via a treat-to-target approach compared with standard outpatient care in Crohn’s disease

Background: Virtual clinics represent a novel model of care in inflammatory bowel disease. Their effectiveness in promoting high quality use of biologic therapy and facilitating a treat-to-target approach is unknown. Aim: To evaluate clinical and process-driven outcomes in a virtual clinic compared to standard outpatient care amongst patients receiving intensified anti-TNF therapy for secondary loss of response. Methods: We performed a retrospective multi-centre, parallel, observational cohort study of Crohn's disease patients receiving intensified anti-TNF therapy for secondary loss of response. Objective assessments of disease activity and anti-TNF trough levels at secondary loss of response and during subsequent 6-month semesters, were compared longitudinally between virtual clinic and standard outpatient care cohorts. The primary endpoint was treatment success, with appropriateness of dose intensification, tight disease monitoring and treatment de-escalation representing secondary outcomes. Results: Of 149 patients with similar baseline characteristics, 69 were managed via a virtual clinic and 80 via standard outpatient care. There were higher rates of treatment success in the virtual clinic cohort (60.9 vs 35.0%, P < 0.002). Rates of appropriate dose intensification (82.6% vs 40.0%, P < 0.001), biomarker remission (faecal calprotectin P = 0.002), tight-disease monitoring (84.1% vs 28.8%, P < 0.001) and treatment de-escalation (21.3% vs 10.0%, P = 0.027) also favoured the virtual clinic cohort. Conclusion: This study favoured a virtual clinic-led model-of-care over standard outpatient care in facilitating treatment success as part of an effective treat-to-target approach in Crohn's disease. A virtual clinic model-of-care also improved treatment outcomes and quality of use of intensified anti-TNF therapy through processes that promoted appropriate dose intensification and tight-disease monitoring, while encouraging more frequent dose de-escalation.