P126 - QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE FROM CLINICAL TRIAL EXIT INTERVIEWS IN SHORT BOWEL SYNDROME PATIENTS WITH INTESTINAL FAILURE

P126

QUALITATIVE INSIGHTS ON QUALITY OF LIFE FROM CLINICAL TRIAL EXIT INTERVIEWS IN SHORT BOWEL SYNDROME PATIENTS WITH INTESTINAL FAILURE

P. B. Jeppesen^1,*, B. Kloster², M. Berner-Hansen^2,3, C. Slusser², B. G. Santacruz², C. Mubekapi-Musadaidzwa⁴, A. Ryden⁴, D. Mercer⁵

¹Department of Intestinal Failure and Liver Diseases, Rigshospitalet, Copenhagen, ²Medical Affairs, Zealand Pharma A/S, Soeborg, ³Digestive Disease Center K, Bispebjerg University Hospital, ⁴Clinigma, Copenhagen, Denmark, ⁵Department of Surgery, University of Nebraska Medical Center, Omaha, United States

Rationale: Exit interviews were performed in EASE SBS-1, a phase 3, multicenter, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial (Jeppesen et al. Gastroenterology, 2025) evaluating the efficacy and safety (EASE) of glepaglutide in short bowel syndrome patients with intestinal failure (SBS-IF). The purpose of the qualitative exit interviews was to capture patients' perspectives on changes in parenteral support (PS) volume and help to understand symptoms that are most bothersome, relevant, and important to the individual patient. 

Methods: Thirty patients from the EASE SBS-1 trial participated in exit interviews (US, UK, DK, DE). Telephone interviews were conducted, and data was collected using a semi-structured interview manual, and interviews were recorded and transcribed verbatim for analysis. 

Results: Patients in the exit interviews highlighted the impact of SBS-IF on their lives before the clinical trial, where they reported burdens related to the loss of freedom, disrupted sleep, limited physical activity, and SBS-related pain. During the interviews, at the end of the trial, patients reported improved well-being across multiple domains. An improvement in sleep was mentioned by almost half of the patients: 13 patients (11 glepaglutide, 2 placebo) reported an improvement in their sleep while 1 patient (glepaglutide) noted a minimal worsening. Most patients receiving glepaglutide (n = 17/18; 94%) found that the PS volume reduction was meaningful, compared to 67% (n = 2/3) of those receiving placebo. 

Conclusion: Patients in the exit interviews, receiving glepaglutide, reported improvements in well-being across multiple domains, sleep being one of these. Patients also noted meaningful reductions in PS volume. These findings underscore the patient-reported positive experiences of glepaglutide and its perceived benefits on quality of life. 

Disclosure of Interest: None declared