Should We Be Screening for SARS-CoV-2 in IBD Patients Before Initiation of Biologic Therapy?

Comorbidities, Associated Diseases, and Risk Assessment in COVID-19-A Systematic Review

It is considered that COVID-19's pandemic expansion is responsible for the particular increase in deaths, especially among the population with comorbidities. The health system is often overwhelmed by the large number of cases of patients addressing it, by the regional limitation of funds, and by the gravity of cases at subjects suffering from this pathology. Several associated conditions including diabetes, cardiovascular illnesses, obesity, persistent lung condition, neurodegenerative diseases, etc., increase the mortality risk and hospitalization of subjects suffering from COVID-19. The rapid identification of patients with increased risk of death from the SARS-CoV-2 virus, the stratification in accordance with the risk and the allocation of human, financial, and logistical resources in proportion must be a priority for health systems worldwide.

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

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.