Letter to the Editor
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2024. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Oct 14, 2024; 30(38): 4242-4245
Published online Oct 14, 2024. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v30.i38.4242
Physician-dependent diagnosis delay in Crohn's disease: A pseudo-proposition or not?
Yan Zeng, Jun-Wen Zhang, Jian Yang
Yan Zeng, Department of Psychology, The Second Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400010, China
Jun-Wen Zhang, Jian Yang, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, Chongqing 400016, China
Author contributions: Zhang JW and Yang J conceptualized and designed the research; Zeng Y and Yang J performed the literature search, analyzed the data, and wrote the original manuscript; Zhang JW edited the manuscript; all authors have read and approved the final manuscript.
Supported by the Education and Teaching Reform Project of the First Clinical College of Chongqing Medical University, No. CMER202305; and Natural Science Foundation of Tibet Autonomous Region, No. XZ2024ZR-ZY100(Z).
Conflict-of-interest statement: All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest to disclose.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: https://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Jian Yang, MD, PhD, Associate Chief Physician, Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Chongqing Medical University, No. 1 Youyi Road, Yuzhong District, Chongqing 400016, China. yangjian@hospital.cqmu.edu.cn
Received: July 14, 2024
Revised: September 8, 2024
Accepted: September 11, 2024
Published online: October 14, 2024
Processing time: 76 Days and 18.7 Hours
Abstract

The challenge of diagnosis delay in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) has emerged as a significant concern for both patients and healthcare professionals. The widely accepted notion that there is an extended time frame from the onset of symptoms to the definitive diagnosis is often attributed to the heterogeneity of IBD and the non-specificity of clinical manifestations. Specific to patients with Crohn’s disease, the issue of delayed diagnosis appears to be more pronounced across different regions globally. The intricate interplay of real-world factors has led to debates regarding the primary contributors to these diagnostic delays. Drawing a comparison solely between patients and physicians and implicating the latter as the predominant influence factor may fall into a simplistic either-or logical trap that may obscure the truth. This letter, grounded in published evidence, explores areas for improvement in a forthcoming paper within the field, hoping to pinpoint the culprit behind the diagnosis delay issue for IBD patients rather than simply attributing it to so-called “physician-dependent factors”. Our objective is to motivate healthcare providers and policymakers in relevant fields to reflect on strategies for addressing this problem to reduce diagnostic delays and enhance patient outcomes.

Keywords: Inflammatory bowel disease; Crohn’s disease; Diagnosis delay; Influencing factors; Culprit

Core Tip: This letter centers on the pressing matter of diagnostic delays in inflammatory bowel disease, particularly Crohn’s disease. Drawing on a comprehensive evaluation of a forthcoming paper in the field, our editorial posits that addressing the current diagnostic delays in Crohn’s disease hinges on recognizing the myriad complex real-world factors contributing to the issue, particularly emphasizing those behind the so-called “physician-dependent factors”.