Project description:Background and aimMedication nonadherence is common in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and has been associated with worse outcomes. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic led to significant consumer and medical concern regarding the possible risks of immunosuppressive medications during the pandemic. This study aimed to examine medication adherence and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) usage during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsAn online survey was sent to patients from two tertiary IBD units. The survey included medication nonadherence attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, complementary therapy, and IBD medication use. Validated measures of IBD disease activity, medication adherence, and beliefs about medicines were obtained.ResultsOf 262 respondents (median age of 46, 58% female) 14 (5%) patients reported self-initiated missed doses or dose reduction of IBD medications directly attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic. Positive associations with medication nonadherence included current corticosteroid requirement (P = 0.022), higher disease activity scores (P = 0.026), and higher concern about medicines score (P = 0.04). CAM usage was common, aimed at treating mental health in most cases, and infrequently attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic.ConclusionsEven in the setting of low COVID-19 prevalence, the pandemic reduced IBD medication adherence in 1 in 20 patients. This reduced adherence was co-associated with increased disease activity and corticosteroid use. Understanding the underlying beliefs driving suboptimal IBD medication adherence is critical to prevent avoidable adverse IBD outcomes.
Project description:BackgroundData on patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) who have had 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) disease (COVID-19) are needed.AimsTo report the clinical characteristics, including gastrointestinal symptoms, of COVID-19 in IBD patients, and to assess the risk of COVID-19 in IBD.MethodsThis case series included consecutive IBD patients with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19. Age-adjusted cumulative incidences were compared with the general population in the Madrid region.ResultsThrough April 8, 12 of 1918 IBD patients were diagnosed with COVID-19. The average age was 52 years, 75% of the patients were female and 58.3% had Crohn's disease. Seven patients (58%) were on maintenance treatment with immunomodulators/biologics, of these four with combined therapy (33%). Eight patients (66%) required hospitalisation (one intensive care unit admission, and two deaths), and four patients were isolated at home. Nine patients had diarrhoea ranging between 4 and 10 loose stools per day (mean 5.4, SD 1.6). In five patients (42%) diarrhoea was a presenting symptom. In two patients, diarrhoea was the only symptom at debut. Cumulative incidence of COVID-19 was 6.2 per 1000 IBD patients. IBD patients had a lower adjusted incidence ratio of COVID-19 (OR 0.74, 95% CI 0.70-0.77; P < 0.001), and a similar associated mortality ratio (OR 0.95, 95% CI: 0.84-1.06; P = 0.36), compared with the general population.ConclusionsIBD patients do not have an increased risk of COVID-19 and associated mortality compared with the general population. In many IBD patients, diarrhoea was a presenting symptom, and sometimes, was the only symptom at onset of COVID-19.
Project description:Background & aimsData on the clinical characteristics of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs) with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) are scarce. The aim of our systematic review was to investigate symptoms and diagnostic-therapeutic management of IBD patients with COVID-19.MethodsWe searched PubMed, Embase, Web of Science, and MedRxiv up to July 29, 2020, to identify all studies reporting clinical information on adult and pediatric IBD patients with confirmed COVID-19.ResultsTwenty-three studies met our inclusion criteria, including 243,760 IBD patients. COVID-19 was diagnosed in 1028 patients (509 with Crohn's disease [49.5%], 428 with ulcerative colitis [41.6%], 49 with indeterminate colitis [4.8%], and 42 with missing data [4.1%]), accounting for a cumulative prevalence of 0.4%. Viral infection occurred more frequently in males than in females (56.5% vs 39.7%), and the mean age ranged from 14 to 85 years. The most common symptoms were fever (48.3%), cough (46.5%), and diarrhea (20.5%), and a COVID-19 diagnosis was achieved mainly through polymerase chain reaction analysis of nasopharyngeal swabs (94.4%) and chest computed tomography scans (38.9%). Hydroxychloroquine (23.9%), lopinavir/ritonavir (8.2%), steroids (3.2%), and antibiotics (3.1%) were the most used drugs. Overall, approximately a third of patients were hospitalized (30.6%), and 11.4% of them required admission to the intensive care unit. In total, 29 COVID-19-related deaths were reported (3.8%), and increasing age and the presence of comorbidities were recognized as risk factors for COVID-19 and negative outcomes.ConclusionsDiarrhea occurs more frequently in IBD patients with COVID-19 than in the non-IBD population. Further studies are needed to define the optimal diagnostic-therapeutic approach in IBD patients with COVID-19.
Project description:ObjectiveThis study aimed to assess the disease conditions of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Hubei Province during the outbreak of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) by questionnaire online and guide their self-management during this epidemic.ResultsA total of 102 eligible questionnaires were included. No patient we surveyed reported a diagnosis of COVID-19. Our result showed that 67.86% of patients with ulcerative colitis (UC) and 80.43% of patients with Crohn's disease (CD) were in remission, 85.29%of patients had a good quality of life. Part of the patients (21.57%) reported their disease conditions worsening. The reduction in physical exercise was a risk factor for worsening conditions (OR=17.593, p=0.009). Some patients reported an alteration of medication regimens during the epidemic.ConclusionsThe epidemic of COVID-19 might have a certain impact on many aspects of Hubei IBD patients within four weeks after the traffic control. Doctors could utilize the results from our questionnaire to guide IBD patients' self-management.MethodsA questionnaire was designed containing the Harvey-Bradshaw Index (HBI), the 6-point Mayo Score, the short inflammatory bowel disease questionnaire (SIBDQ) and distributed to Hubei IBD patients online within four weeks of traffic control after the outbreak, it also included questions about patients' self-reported disease conditions and their epidemiological features of COVID-19.
Project description:Background and aimsResearch on the effect of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on psychosocial function in patients with pediatric-onset inflammatory bowel disease (PIBD) is limited. This study aimed to evaluate the psychological status of patients with PIBD before and during the pandemic, and the relationship between mental health and disease activity.MethodsThis study was a retrospective cohort study. Statistical analyses were performed to assess the relationship between demographic, clinical data and psychological data (questionnaires) of PIBD patients before and during the epidemic. The anxiety and depression emotional status of the guardians during the pandemic were evaluated.ResultsIn the PIBD follow-up cohort, 42 patients(male 61.9%) were included. Female with PIBD had lower pediatric quality of life inventory(PedsQL) scores (P = 0.007) and higher spence children's anxiety scale(SCAS) scores (P = 0.038) than male. The pandemic did not have a substantial impact on PedsQL, pittsburgh sleep quality index(PSQI), SCAS, or children's depression inventory(CDI) in patients with PIBD. The self-rating anxiety scale(SAS) score, anxiety rate, self-rating depression scale(SDS) score, and depression rate of PIBD guardians were significantly higher than those of healthy controls (SAS, P = 0.008; SDS, P = 0.001).ConclusionsFemale children with PIBD were more vulnerable to decreased QOL and increased anxiety than male children. The anxiety and depression status of PIBD guardians were significantly higher than those of healthy controls during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the COVID-19 pandemic did not significantly affect quality of life(QOL), sleep, anxiety, or depressive mood of patients with PIBD in our study.
Project description:Vaccination against coronavirus disease-19 (COVID-19) is effective in preventing the occurrence or reduction in the severity of the infection. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are on immunomodulators, which may alter serological response to vaccination against COVID-19. Accordingly, we studied (i) the serological response to vaccination against COVID-19 in IBD patients and (ii) a comparison of serological response in IBD patients with that in healthy controls. A prospective study was undertaken during a 6-month period (July 2021 to January 2022). Seroconversion was assessed among vaccinated, unvaccinated IBD patients and vaccinated healthy controls using anti-severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 immunoglobulin G (anti-SARS-CoV-2 IgG) antibody detection enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) kit, and optical density (OD) was measured at 450 nm. OD is directly proportional to the antibody concentration. One hundred and thirty-two blood samples were collected from 97 IBD patients (85 [87.6%] ulcerative colitis and 12 [12.4%] Crohn's disease). Forty-one of the seventy-one (57.7%) unvaccinated and 60/61 (98.4%) vaccinated IBD patients tested positive (OD > 0.3) for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Fourteen of the sixteen (87.5%) healthy controls tested positive for SARS-CoV-2 IgG antibodies. Vaccinated IBD patients had higher ODs than unvaccinated IBD patients (1.31 [1.09-1.70] vs. 0.53 [0.19-1.32], p < 0.001) and 16 vaccinated healthy controls (1.31 [1.09-1.70] vs. 0.64 [0.43-0.78], p < 0.001). Three of the seventy-one (4.2%) unvaccinated IBD patients reported having recovered from COVID-19. Most IBD patients seroconvert after vaccination against SARS-CoV-2, similar to a healthy population. A large proportion of IBD patients had anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies even before vaccination, suggesting the occurrence of herd immunity.
Project description:Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a viral infection that appeared in December 2019. The risk of infection seems to be increased in chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases due to both immune disturbances related to the disease and treatment. In this case report, we describe the clinical features of 5 rheumatic immune disease patients with the concomitant presence of COVID-19. Among these patients, 3 had rheumatoid arthritis and 2 had systemic lupus erythematosus. Patients' age ranged between 38 and 63 years. Only one patient (SLE) had a severe subtype of COVID-19. All the patients were cured of COVID-19 and were subsequently discharged.
Project description:Background and aimGastrointestinal manifestations of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic may mimic irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and social distancing measures may affect IBS patients negatively. We aimed to study the impact of COVID-19 on respondents with self-reported IBS.MethodsWe conducted an anonymized survey from May to June 2020 in 33 countries. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices on personal hygiene and social distancing as well as psychological impact of COVID-19 were assessed. Statistical analysis was performed to determine differences in well-being and compliance to social distancing measures between respondents with and without self-reported IBS. Factors associated with improvement or worsening of IBS symptoms were evaluated.ResultsOut of 2704 respondents, 2024 (74.9%) did not have IBS, 305 (11.3%) had self-reported IBS, and 374 (13.8%) did not know what IBS was. Self-reported IBS respondents reported significantly worse emotional, social, and psychological well-being compared with non-IBS respondents and were less compliant to social distancing measures (28.2% vs 35.3%, P = 0.029); 61.6% reported no change, 26.6% reported improvement, and 11.8% reported worsening IBS symptoms. Higher proportion of respondents with no change in IBS symptoms were willing to practice social distancing indefinitely versus those who deteriorated (74.9% vs 51.4%, P = 0.016). In multivariate analysis, willingness to continue social distancing for another 2-3 weeks (vs longer period) was significantly associated with higher odds of worsening IBS.ConclusionOur study showed that self-reported IBS respondents had worse well-being and compliance to social distancing measures than non-IBS respondents. Future research will focus on occupational stress and dietary changes during COVID-19 that may influence IBS.
Project description:Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are not vaccinated at the same rate as general medical patients. IBD places patients at increased risk for developing vaccine-preventable illnesses, and this risk is further exacerbated by immunosuppressive therapy. Therefore, gastroenterologists should familiarize themselves with health maintenance measures pertaining to patients with IBD. This article highlights the vaccinations required for patients with IBD, especially those who are immunosuppressed: influenza; pneumococcal pneumonia; hepatitis A and B viruses; human papilloma virus; meningococcal disease; tetanus, diphtheria, and pertussis; measles, mumps, and rubella; varicella zoster; and herpes zoster. This article also discusses issues regarding patients with IBD who travel outside of the United States, as well as highlights and provides suggestions for areas of quality improvement that are needed in the field.