COVID-19 is found to hit men, older adults, obese people and those with certain underlying health issues, including hypertension and diabetes. But, individuals suffering from irritable bowel disease (IBD) are warned to be particularly careful of the coronavirus disease due to the common use of immunosuppressive or immune modifying drugs that treat the condition.

A team of experts led by David T. Rubin, MD, University of Chicago Medicine Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center, has developed certain new guidelines, published by the American Gastroenterology Association (AGA) for IBD patients, to manage their condition during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Here’s what the new guideline suggests for IBD patients:

  • Continue taking all the therapies including all scheduled infusions.
  • At present, there is no evidence that IBD could increase one’s risk of SARS-CoV-2 infection. But, it is recommended that you stop taking medications such as tofacitinib, methotrexate, thiopurines as well as biological therapies such as anti-TNF, vedolizumab, and ustekinumab.
  • If you happen to contract the virus, you can restart your IBD therapies after the complete resolution of COVID-19 symptoms.
  • Discuss with your healthcare team before discontinuing any medications.

While the majority of COVID-19 patients experience similar symptoms such as fever and respiratory issues, a significant amount of them do exhibit alterations in their bowel habits and might experience certain digestive symptoms. Such symptoms could be due to the inoculation of the gastrointestinal tract from swallowing the virus. Evidence has also suggested that the virus is detectable in stool even after the resolution of respiratory symptoms.

The guidelines also recommend that doctors should treat all their patients like they have coronavirus and use personal protective equipment (PPE) regardless of the patient’s COVID-19 status. The guidelines highlight that, in the absence of accurate and reliable testing for COVID-19, as well as the prolonged asymptomatic shedding of the virus, health experts should consider all patients as a risk.

“Data related to the spread of SARS-CoV-2 in the early phase of the pandemic have confirmed that health care professionals are at higher risk of infection than the general population. While COVID-19 is spread primarily through droplet transmission, endoscopic procedures can lead to aerosolization and subsequent airborne transmission,” MDMag quoted David T. Rubin, MD et al.

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