Biological therapies for inflammatory bowel disease are proving "safe and effective," according to the findings of an audit published today.
Doctors are becoming more familiar with the treatments, leading to them being prescribed earlier to patients with less severe disease, auditors say.
The UK Inflammatory Bowel Disease audit referred to two anti-inflammatory monoclonal antibodies used to treat Crohn’s disease.
The auditors say that 80% of adult patients and 77% of paediatric patients experienced improvements following treatment with these drugs.
Some 152 adult trusts and 23 paediatric units took part in the survey.
Audit associate clinical director Dr Ian Arnott said: "This audit demonstrates that biological therapies continue to be safe and effective treatments for IBD. It is interesting to see that patterns of use have changed over the course of this audit suggesting more appropriate prescribing.
"It is important that further audits continue to address the issue of long term safety and also collect data on biosimilars and newer biological treatments."
Dr Richard Russell, of The Royal Hospital for Sick Children, Glasgow, said: "With the imminent introduction of a wider range of these medicines this will allow us to closely monitor any changes in their effectiveness or safety profile."
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