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Review
. 2021 Mar 21;27(11):1022-1042.
doi: 10.3748/wjg.v27.i11.1022.

How to manage inflammatory bowel disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: A guide for the practicing clinician

Júlio Maria Fonseca Chebli  1 , Natália Sousa Freitas Queiroz  2 , Adérson Omar Mourão Cintra Damião  2 , Liliana Andrade Chebli  1 , Márcia Henriques de Magalhães Costa  3 , Rogério Serafim Parra  4
Affiliations
Review

How to manage inflammatory bowel disease during the COVID-19 pandemic: A guide for the practicing clinician

Júlio Maria Fonseca Chebli et al. World J Gastroenterol. .

Abstract

Managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has been a challenge faced by clinicians and their patients, especially concerning whether to proceed with biologics and immunosuppressive agents in the background of a global outbreak of a highly contagious new coronavirus (severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, SARS-CoV-2). The knowledge about the impact of this virus on patients with IBD, although it is still scarce, is rapidly evolving. In particular, concerns surrounding medications' impact for IBD on the risk of acquiring SARS-CoV-2 infection or developing COVID-19, and potentially exacerbate viral replication and the COVID-19 course, are a current thinking of both practicing clinicians and providers caring for patients with IBD. Managing patients with IBD infected with SARS-CoV-2 depends on both the clinical activity of the IBD and the occasional development and severity of COVID-19. In this review, we summarize the current data regarding gastrointestinal involvement by SARS-CoV-2 and pharmacologic and surgical management for IBD concerning this infection, and the COVID-19 impact on both the patient's psychological functioning and endoscopy services, and we concisely summarize the telemedicine roles during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: Biological therapy; COVID-19; Colitis ulcerative; Crohn disease; Inflammatory bowel disease; SARS-CoV-2.

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Conflict of interest statement

Conflict-of-interest statement: Parra RS has received fees for serving as a speaker and/or an advisory board member for AbbVie, Ferring Pharmaceuticals, Janssen, and Takeda. Chebli JMF has received fees for serving as a speaker and/or an advisory board member for Abbott, AbbVie, Janssen, and Takeda. Chebli LA has received fees for serving as a speaker for Janssen and Takeda. Queiroz NSF reports receiving consulting and lecture fees from Janssen, Takeda, and Abbvie. Damião AOMC has received fees for serving as a speaker and/or an advisory board member for Takeda, Abbvie, Pfizer, Janssen, Ferring, and Natulab.

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