Review
Copyright ©The Author(s) 2021. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Gastroenterol. Jul 7, 2021; 27(25): 3748-3761
Published online Jul 7, 2021. doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i25.3748
Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inflammatory bowel disease patients: A review of the current evidence
Marko Kumric, Tina Ticinovic Kurir, Dinko Martinovic, Piero Marin Zivkovic, Josko Bozic
Marko Kumric, Tina Ticinovic Kurir, Dinko Martinovic, Josko Bozic, Department of Pathophysiology, University of Split School of Medicine, Split 21000, Croatia
Tina Ticinovic Kurir, Department of Endocrinology, University Hospital of Split, Split 21000, Croatia
Piero Marin Zivkovic, Department of Gastroenterology, University Hospital of Split, Split 21000, Croatia
Author contributions: Kumric M, Ticinovic Kurir T and Bozic J for conceptualization, original draft preparation, and supervision; Kumric M, Martinovic D and Zivkovic PM for review of literature and visualization; all authors contributed to the final draft of the manuscript; all authors have read and agreed to the published version of the manuscript.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We declare no conflict of interest.
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: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Josko Bozic, MD, PhD, Associate Professor, Department of Pathophysiology, University of Split School of Medicine, Soltanska 2, Split 21000, Croatia. josko.bozic@mefst.hr
Received: January 27, 2021
Peer-review started: January 27, 2021
First decision: February 25, 2021
Revised: March 5, 2021
Accepted: April 13, 2021
Article in press: April 13, 2021
Published online: July 7, 2021
Abstract

Since the initial coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) outbreak in China in December 2019, the infection has now become the biggest medical issue of modern medicine. Two major contributors that amplified the impact of the disease and subsequently increased the burden on health care systems were high mortality among patients with multiple co-morbidities and overcapacity of intensive care units. Within the gastroenterology-related community, particular concern was raised with respect to patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), as those patients are prone to opportunistic infections mainly owing to their immunosuppressive-based therapies. Hence, we sought to summarize current knowledge regarding COVID-19 infection in patients with IBD. Overall, it seems that IBD is not a comorbidity that poses an increased risk for COVID-19 acquisition, except in patients treated with 5-aminosalicylates. Furthermore, outcomes of the infected patients are largely dependent on therapeutic modality by which they are treated, as some worsen the clinical course of COVID-19 infection, whereas others seem to dampen the detrimental effects of COVID-19. Finally, we discussed the present and the future impact of COVID-19 pandemic and concomitantly increased health care burden on IBD-management.

Keywords: COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, Inflammatory bowel disease, Crohn’s disease, Ulcerative colitis

Core Tip: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is the biggest medical issue of the 21st century so far. Within the gastroenterology-related community, COVID-19 is a concern in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), as those patients are prone to opportunistic infections owing to their immunosuppressive-based therapies. Hence, in this review, we summarized currently available data and concluded that patients with IBD are not at a higher risk for COVID-19 development, unless treated with 5-aminosalicylates, and that the outcomes of infected patients depend on their respective therapeutic modalities. Finally, we discussed the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and the concomitantly increased health care burden on IBD-management.