The Symptoms and Medications of Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Hubei Province after COVID-19 Epidemic

Abstract

Objectives. The COVID-19 epidemic triggered by coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 is rapidly spreading around the globe. This study is aimed at finding out the suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection in patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) in Hubei province, China. We also investigated symptoms, medications, life quality, and psychological issues of IBD patients under the ongoing pandemic. Methods. We conducted a self-reported questionnaire survey via an online survey platform. SARS-CoV-2 infection-related data was collected from IBD patients. The status quo of medications and symptoms of the subjects were investigated. Life quality, depression, and anxiety were measured by clinical questionnaires and rated on scoring systems. Results. A total of 204 IBD patients from Hubei province were included in this study. No suspected or confirmed SARS-CoV-2 infection case was found in this study. As a result of city shutdown, two-thirds of the patients (138/204) in our series reported difficulty in accessing medicines and nearly half of them (73/138) had to discontinue medications. Apart from gastrointestinal symptoms, systemic symptoms were common while respiratory symptoms were rare in the cohort. Though their quality of life was not significantly lowered, depression and anxiety were problems that seriously affected them during the COVID-19 epidemic. Conclusions. Inaccessibility to medications is a serious problem for IBD patients after city shutdown. Efforts have to be made to address the problems of drug withdrawal and psychological issues that IBD patients suffer from during the COVID-19 outbreak.

Influence of the COVID-19 Outbreak on Disease Activity and Quality of Life in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients

“…The present preliminary cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the extent to which HRQL of IBD patients might be influenced by the outbreak of Covid-19 while controlling for disease activity. Based on earlier findings (14,18,19,23), we expected that disease activity would be associated with psychological distress and probably the stressful stay-athome period and that the pandemic outbreak could represent an additional independent factor of psychological distress affecting HRQL.…”

“…Due to the above-mentioned problems in medical disease management ( 12 ), patients reported a 20–30% prevalence of symptoms of anxiety and depression as well as poor HRQL ( 18 ). Other investigations reported that disability and HRQL appears to be unaffected by the Covid-19 during the stay-at-home phase of the pandemic only but without evaluating the burden of concomitant disease activity ( 19 , 20 ).…”

Impact of COVID-19 Pandemic on the Quality of Life of IBD Patients

“…The results of a study evaluating the impact of epidemiological measures on social distancing and isolation at home showed that symptoms of anxiety and depression, as well as QoL impairment, were found in 20–30% of patients [ 15 ]. Other studies that quantified the effects of COVID-19 epidemiological measures on the health of patients with chronic conditions showed that QoL was unaffected by COVID-19 [ 16 , 17 ]. Based on these premises, the present study aims to assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the QoL of patients with IBD.…”

Egypt's second wave of coronavirus disease of 2019 pandemic and its impact on patients with inflammatory bowel disease

“…The disease may relapse or worsen if patients are cut off from their medication. 15 The aim of this study explored the emotional state, perception, and coping strategies of patients with IBD during the COVID 19 pandemic period. It would help them to combat future threats that are similar.…”