COVID-19 content: Cross Collection

Background Long-term immunosuppressive therapy typically increases the risk of viral infection, yet during the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) pandemic, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients showed reduced severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) susceptibility. ...

Background We aimed to determine patient perspectives on inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) research participation and potential changes related to the COVID pandemic experience. Methods Participants of the population-based University of Manitoba IBD Research Registry were surveyed March 2022 to ...

Background Children with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may have diminished serologic response to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) vaccination and increased risk for subsequent severe coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection. We sought to describe outcomes among ...

Introduction The COVID-19 pandemic has introduced new challenges to the diagnosis and management of pediatric inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). Many patients have had only limited access to their providers through telemedicine, and many chose to delay nonemergent treatment. Methods A retrospective ...

Background Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) require accessible, timely, and noninvasive strategies to monitor disease. The aim was to assess the integration of intestinal ultrasound (IUS) on decision-making and endoscopy utilization in a standardized care pathway. Methods This ...

Background Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are at higher risk for severe COVID-19 infection. However, most studies are single-center, and nationwide data in the United States are lacking. This study aimed to investigate hospital-related outcomes and predictors of these outcomes in ...

Background Tixagevimab and cilgavimab (Evusheld) are 2 fully human monoclonal antibodies that received emergency-use authorization on December 21, 2021, for pre-exposure prophylaxis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in patients who are moderate–severely immunocompromised. The real-world ...

Background and Aims Immunosuppressed individuals are at higher risk for COVID-19 complications, yet data in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are limited. We evaluated the risk of COVID-19- severe sequelae by medication utilization in a large cohort of patients with IBD. Methods We ...

Background Vaccine hesitancy is prevalent among people with IBD, in part due to insufficient evidence regarding comparative safety of vaccines in this population. Methods We conducted a nationwide comparative study of postvaccination symptoms among those with IBD and health care workers (HCWs) ...

Background There is evidence that SARS-CoV2 infection can increase the risk of herpes zoster (HZ) in the general population. However, the risk in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is not known. Methods The TriNetX database was utilized to conduct a retrospective cohort study in ...

Background It is not known whether coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) is a trigger for disease activity in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In patients with IBD, we aimed to examine the association between COVID-19 infection and prescriptions of systemic and local corticosteroids (used as ...

Variables extracted from PALGA included procedure date, type, neoplasia grade (IND, LGD, high-grade dysplasia [HGD], or colorectal cancer [CRC]), and new IBD diagnosis. We screened all individual histology records to exclude any false positive IBD-related diagnoses. All patients with a new or ...

During the COVID-19 pandemic, there was a decrease in healthcare utilization among inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients at university and safety-net systems. Patients with limited English proficiency, with technology aversion, with financial instability, and who were elderly reported worse perceptions of IBD care during the pandemic. However, rates of hospitalization and surgery for IBD did not change.

We evaluated antibody concentrations 6 months after a third coronavirus disease 2019 messenger RNA vaccine dose in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. Almost all patients had an antibody response, and those with a previous SARS-CoV-2 infection had higher antibody concentrations.

Aim There are limited data on the impact of 2 vs 3 doses of COVID-19 vaccine in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). The primary aim of the study was to assess the efficacy of COVID-19 vaccine based on number of administered doses in patients with IBD. Methods We conducted a ...

Subsequently, we analyzed the related factors of AEs as well as the exacerbation of IBD-related clinical symptoms after COVID-19 vaccination. Based on the bivariate logistic regression analysis, related factors of AEs were vedolizumab, corticosteroid, clinically active stage, and times of ...

Herein, we evaluated the humoral immunogenicity of a third coronavirus disease 2019 messenger RNA vaccine dose in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases. All patients displayed a humoral immune response, and median antibody concentrations were higher after the third dose than after completion ...

Background Four EMA-approved vaccines against SARS-CoV-2 are currently available. Data regarding antibody responses to initial vaccination regimens in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) are limited. Methods We conducted a prospective, controlled, multicenter study in tertiary Greek IBD ...

Background Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be at risk for development of COVID-19 infection due to innate immune dysfunction and/or immunosuppressive medication use. Methods In a prospective cohort of adult IBD patients, we captured data on clinical risk factors and IBD ...

This brief report investigated the impact of clinical, biochemical, and endoscopic activity of IBD on the severity and long-term outcomes of COVID-19 in a prospective population-based cohort. The study did not identify any association between IBD activity and COVID-19 outcomes.

To the Editors: The newly developed messenger RNA (mRNA)–based vaccines against severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 are effective for the prevention of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). However, the induction of efficient immune responses by COVID-19 vaccination is concomitant with a ...

Background Cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) have emerged in discrete waves. We explored temporal trends in the reporting of COVID-19 in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. Methods The Surveillance Epidemiology of Coronavirus Under Research Exclusion for Inflammatory Bowel Disease ...

Background Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 vaccination is recommended for all individuals with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), including those on immunosuppressive therapies; however, little is known about vaccine safety and efficacy in these patients or the impact of vaccination ...

This prospective single-center study on 602 inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients and 168 healthy controls shows that vaccination against COVID-19 is effective and safe in patients with IBD. It warrants particular attention to the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination of IBD patients treated with TNF-α inhibitors with immunomodulators, shows priority of mRNA vaccines in this specific group of patients, and confirms that IBD patients can continue their high-efficacy immune-modifying therapy, including biological treatment, even during the anti-SARS-CoV-2 vaccination.

Mesalamine treatment reduced expression of the viral receptor ACE2 while concurrently increasing CTSL expression in human ileum organoids. Prior studies have identified that intestinal ACE2 expression is reduced in active ileal Crohn’s, leading the authors to posit that active IBD may be protective ...

Background We assessed whether 5-aminosalicylic acid (5-ASA), as treatment for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), was associated with an increase in hospitalization for coronavirus disease 2019 and adverse in-hospital outcomes. Methods This was a Danish nationwide register study. The study ...

Background Our understanding of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and its implications for patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) is rapidly evolving. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis to investigate the epidemiology, clinical characteristics, and outcomes in IBD ...

Background Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be at risk for complications due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We performed a qualitative study to better understand IBD patient experiences and concerns when navigating the COVID-19 pandemic, with the goal of prioritizing patients’ ...

The authors wish to thank the pediatric gastroenterologists at the Mount Sinai IBD Center and Randa Samaha, FNP. M.C.D. is a consultant for Janssen, Abbvie, UCB, Takeda, Pfizer, Prometheus Labs, Genentech, Salix, Celgene Research Support, Takeda, Pfizer, and Janssen. M.T.D. is a consultant for ...

This letter elucidates the potential novel therapeutic value of electroacupuncture in coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients. As a classic treatment of traditional Chinese medicine, electroacupuncture has outstanding effects in the conditioning of gastrointestinal functions for COVID-19 ...

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can cause gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms. A prior meta-analysis suggested that up to 17.6% of COVID-19 patients have GI symptoms. 1 Data are conflicting on the association of GI symptoms with COVID-19 outcomes, with some reports suggesting worse prognosis ...

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has not finished yet, and the most promising option towards its ending is widespread vaccination. Because patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBDs), namely Crohn’s disease (CD) and ulcerative colitis (UC), often require immune-modifying ...

To the Editors, Vaccination against severe acute respiratory syndrome related coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV-2) represents an exit strategy from the current pandemic. However, the rapid development of SARS-CoV-2 vaccines has led to uncertainties among the Italian population and among patients with ...

Hypersensitivity-related adverse events were also relatively rare in the mRNA COVID-19 vaccine trials, with a rate of 0.63% in Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine recipients and 1.5% in Moderna vaccine recipients. There was 1 case of anaphylaxis and 1 drug hypersensitivity reaction in the Pfizer-BioNTech trial ...

To the Editors, COVID-19 has posed unprecedented challenges to the design, conduct, and implementation of clinical trials. 1 , 2 Clinical trials in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have specific nuances, such as the need for colonoscopy for enrollment and rerandomization and as a component of ...

In conclusion, older patients with UC may be at higher risk for hospitalization with COVID-19 during the pandemic although they do not have more adverse hospitalization outcomes compared with patients without IBD. For these patients, clinicians may need to follow IBD management guidelines 10 ...

Providing appropriate vaccines for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is an essential aspect of preventative care. 1 Vaccine-preventable diseases (VPD) may occur with immunosuppressive therapies used in IBD. 1 Optimizing patients’ immunization status decreases this risk; however, ...

To the Editors, Leukocytoclastic vasculitis (LCV) is a rare cutaneous manifestation associated with Crohn disease (CD) that often resolves with treatment of the underlying CD. 1 In addition, LCV can be a rare adverse reaction to anti-tumor necrosis factor (TNF) alpha therapy. Recently, LCV after ...

The outbreak of SARS-CoV-2 has resulted in a pandemic affecting millions of individuals. The virus causes a clinical presentation varying from no symptoms to multiorgan failure and death. 1 , 2 There was initial concern that patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD), including Crohn ...

To the Editors, We read with great interest the editorial entitled “Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in Egypt During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” It emphasized the challenges that we have encountered to follow up with patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the pandemic. Using telemedicine to ...

We appreciate the opportunity to respond to the letter commenting on our recently published commentary “Inflammatory Bowel Diseases in Egypt During the COVID-19 Pandemic.” The letter raised 4 important points to be clarified: To the editor,

Author Contribution: MA contributed to the study concept and design, interpretation of data, drafting of manuscript, and critical revision of the manuscript for important intellectual content. EJB and RCU contributed to the study concept and design, acquisition of data, interpretation of data, and ...

Background The effect of immunosuppressive treatment for immune-mediated diseases on risk of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has not been established. We aimed to define the effect of targeted biologic and immunomodulator therapy on risk of COVID-19 in a multi-institutional cohort of ...

Aims No empirical research on the psychological impact of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic on people living with IBD, a population known to typically present high levels of anxiety and depression and to be potentially vulnerable to COVID-19, has yet been conducted. This study aimed ...

Additionally, 76% of patients (186 of 246) continued their biological therapy (adalimumab, infliximab or vedolizumab equally distributed) during the 3-month lockdown period ( Table 1 ). Fifty-five percent (138 of 246) of patients reside in Belgrade, but the rest resided elsewhere in Serbia. Age and ...

Conflicts of interest: MCF received consultancy fees from Abbvie, Takeda, Jannsen-Cilag, Pfizer, and Sandoz and research grants from Pfizer and Jannsen-Cilag. CB received lecture fees from Takeda, AbbVie, and Janssen. SS received lecture fees from Takeda Pharmaceuticals and Janssen Pharmaceuticals ...

Background Granulocyte and monocyte adsorptive apheresis (GMA) has been used for therapy of steroid-dependent/refractory ulcerative colitis (UC). The aim of this study was to investigate the effectiveness of GMA in UC patients not receiving steroids. Methods We conducted a single-arm, open-label, ...

As of May 11, 2020, 81,507 laboratory-confirmed cases have been reported in Lombardy, with a cumulative incidence rate of 0.81%; in our cohort, this was roughly similar (1.2%). Yet given the inability to test outpatients with milder symptoms, a 10-fold higher period prevalence has been hypothesized ...

We read with great interest the article by Occhipinti and Pastorelli 1 about the challenges in the care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the COVID-19 pandemic. We experienced a similar situation at Rouhani University Hospital, which is the largest medical center in ...

As with most other GI practices, we performed a very small number (ie, about 5%) of our usual number of procedures in an ambulatory endoscopy setting. These were done for disease assessment in patients with severe disease for whom a change in therapy was being planned or for patients who required ...

To the Editors, We read with interest the article by Axelrad et al, 1 which reported that patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are not at increased risk of COVID-19 and that immunosuppression did not modify the risk of severe outcomes, as previously suggested. 2 , 3 Some authors ...

COVID-19 is not rare in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and could be similar to general population rates. Digestive symptoms are frequent in patients with IBD, mainly mild diarrhea, but COVID-19 does not appear to induce IBD flare-ups. Therapy for IBD is not related to COVID-19 severity.

Background The coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is a clinical situation that could be used as prototype for implementation of new systems of care. Methods This was a single-center, cross-sectional study. We evaluated the feasibility of a strategy based on the conversion of face-to-face visits ...

To the Editors, The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic continues to plague the world since it was first detected in December 2019. Immunocompromised patients, including those with cancer, are at increased risk of severe illness and mortality from infection. 1 Immune checkpoint ...

Background and Aims Persons with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) may be particularly vulnerable to COVID-19 either because of their underlying disease or its management. Guidance has been presented on the management of persons with IBD in the time of this pandemic by different groups. We aimed to ...

Some of these patients may be candidates for home infusions. However, switching to home infusions is not an ideal choice due to concerns that visiting nurses are moving house to house, which may be riskier than highly controlled infusion centers. 2 There has been some discussion about switching ...

To the Editors, We highly appreciate the thoughtful comments made by Castellini et al 1 in response to our special report 2 because it underscores the importance of patient activation for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care by implementing the Patient Health Engagement (PHE) model. 3 ...

To the Editors, We have read with interest the article by Occhipinti and Pastorelli, with particular reference to the management of inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD) relapse during the COVID-19 outbreak. 1 Diagnostic challenges may arise in the presence of symptoms that overlap between active ...

To the Editors, During the COVID-19 pandemic, 188 patients with IBD (78.66%) were in stable condition, and 51 patients (21.34%) had fever, abdominal pain, diarrhea, hematochezia, vomiting, and joint pain were related to IBD. And these patients received regular IBD treatments at our IBD center were ...

We present the case of a patient with acute severe ulcerative colitis and concomitant COVID-19-related pneumonia who required a colectomy after a prolonged and complicated hospitalization during the initial stages of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic, before the establishment of official procedures.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), emerged in Wuhan, China in December 2019, and has rapidly expanded globally. 1 Patients who develop this disease typically present with fever and respiratory symptoms and less commonly ...

Data supporting our recommendation to not test asymptomatic IBD patients initiating biologics for SARS-CoV-2 are reliant on studies of patients on biologics who develop COVID-19. In the recently published SECURE-IBD article, IBD patients receiving anti-TNF agents or anti-IL-12/23 did not increase ...

We read with interest the article by Burgueño et al examining the pathophysiology behind lower prevalence of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients. 1 To better understand the incidence and outcomes of COVID-19 in IBD, we queried the following databases ...

Supported by: This work was supported by grants from the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (grant number R01DK09907), Takeda Pharmaceuticals, U.S.A. (grant number IISR-2014–1000892), the Pfizer-ASPIRE Award (grant number WI227247), The Micky & Madeleine Arison ...

Background We aimed to characterize patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Methods We performed a case series of patients with IBD and confirmed or highly suspected COVID-19 to assess rates of severe outcomes. Results We identified 83 patients ...

Because of the COVID-19 pandemic, IBD units have been forced to adapt their practices to address the disease. A nationwide questionnaire was conducted among IBD units regarding measures taken in terms of organization, IBD treatment, and management of patients with COVID-19 symptoms.

After the COVID-19 pandemic, Greece adopted an aggressive policy that focused on minimizing the spread of the virus and restructuring the Health Care System. Inflammatory bowel disease units efficiently modified their modes of operation to protect their patients without interrupting their treatment.

We discuss the impact that COVID-19 has had on the care of patients with inflammatory bowel disease and the use of telemedicine after the pandemic resolves.

To the Editors, Conflicts of Interest: AS is clinical investigator for Janssen Biologics B.V. and PAREXEL International Srl, has served as consultant for Aboca, D.M.G. Italy, and Nestlé, is a safety monitoring board member for Sucampo AG, and is speaker for Aboca, Angelini, D.M.G. Italy, and ...

The temporal correlation between neurological and gastrointestinal symptoms suggests the lymph vessels around the GI tract, the vascular system, or the gut-brain axis (enteric nervous system) as the most likely entry route for SARS-CoV-2 to the brain.

This article presents a patient with acute severe ulcerative colitis during her first trimester of pregnancy who tested positive for COVID-19. In this new COVID-19 era, this article discusses management of this patient and reviews the current literature.

To the Editors, In December 2019, a new β-coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and its related disease, COVID-19, spread first in China and then worldwide, becoming a pandemic. The patients affected by chronic diseases seem to be at a higher risk to develop severe pneumonia. 1 In this setting, the initial ...

Background Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) have intestinal inflammation and are treated with immune-modulating medications. In the face of the coronavirus disease-19 pandemic, we do not know whether patients with IBD will be more susceptible to infection or disease. We hypothesized ...

Since February 20, 2020, in Italy, we have been confronting the dramatic challenge of the SARS-CoV-2 outbreak, which has completely overthrown our medical practice. We report our experience as an IBD center in Lombardia, the most affected region in Italy.