How does COVID-19 affect patients with inflammatory bowel disease?

What is it about?

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a disorder of the digestive tract. It is linked to a higher risk of death from infections. COVID-19, the disease that has caused a global pandemic, is a cause for concern for patients with IBD. While there have been some studies on COVID-19 in patients with IBD, there is little data on how it affects the course of IBD in patients. There is also limited information on the impact of COVID-19 on IBD therapies. In this study, the authors looked at 3,516 Canadian patients with IBD. They found that COVID-19 infection was less common in patients with IBD than in the general population (3.5% vs. 4.3%). 10% of patients experienced a flare up of IBD after COVID-19. Severe COVID-19 occurred only in 7% of the patients. Moreover, corticosteroid treatment, but not immunosuppressive or biologic therapy, was linked to severe COVID-19. Active IBD and other comorbid health conditions were also linked to severe COVID-19.

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Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

Photo by Martin Sanchez on Unsplash

Why is it important?

IBD has previously been linked to an increased risk of death caused by infections. Moreover, patients with IBD produce a higher amount of a protein called “angiotensin-converting enzyme.” This protein plays a key role in the COVID-19 infection pathway. Prior studies on COVID-19 in patients with IBD have also shown wide variations in mortality rates. Learning how COVID-19 impacts IBD in patients will help better plan how to treat them for both COVID-19 and IBD. KEY TAKEAWAY: COVID-19 infections are not more common among patients with IBD than the general population. They are also no more likely to be severe. Corticosteroid use, active IBD and other comorbidities were linked to more severe COVID-19 in patients with IBD.