Management of Ulcerative Colitis Flare-Ups in the Era of COVID-19

Abstract

Ulcerative colitis (UC) is a chronic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) whose management depends on its severity, localization, and course. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has made the management of this disease more difficult, as severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) routinely causes respiratory infection, but can also target the gastrointestinal tract. Multiple cases of de novo IBD, IBD flare-ups, and colitis have been associated with COVID-19 infection. We present the case of two patients, with a history of UC, who presented respectively a mild and a severe flare-up of their disease associated with COVID-19 infection.Regardless of recommendations, we decided to optimize the patient's treatment and obtained good clinical, biological, and endoscopic results. This report on the two cases suggests that remaining cautious and optimizing can be a good therapeutic alternative for these patients rather than modifying the treatment.