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Copyright ©The Author(s) 2020. Published by Baishideng Publishing Group Inc. All rights reserved.
World J Meta-Anal. Oct 28, 2020; 8(5): 383-399
Published online Oct 28, 2020. doi: 10.13105/wjma.v8.i5.383
Implications of COVID-19 for inflammatory bowel disease: Opportunities and challenges amidst the pandemic
Maliha Naseer, Shiva Poola, Francis E Dailey, Hakan Akin, Veysel Tahan
Maliha Naseer, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, East Carolina University, Greenville, NC 27834, United States
Shiva Poola, Department of Internal Medicine/Pediatrics, Brody School of Medicine/Vidant Medical Center, Greenville, NC 27834, United States
Francis E Dailey, Hakan Akin, Veysel Tahan, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri, Columbia, MO 65212, United States
Author contributions: All authors equally contributed to this paper with conception and design of the study, literature review and analysis, drafting and critical revision and editing, and final approval of the final version.
Conflict-of-interest statement: No conflict of interest.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Veysel Tahan, FACG, FACP, FESBGH, MD, Associate Professor, Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, Department of Internal Medicine, University of Missouri, 1 Hospital Drive, Columbia, MO 65212, United States. tahanv@health.missouri.edu
Received: June 1, 2020
Peer-review started: June 1, 2020
First decision: September 29, 2020
Revised: October 14, 2020
Accepted: October 26, 2020
Article in press: October 26, 2020
Published online: October 28, 2020
Processing time: 148 Days and 20.2 Hours
Core Tip

Core Tip: The current pandemic caused by coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) has resulted in devastating consequences worldwide. This viral infection affecting the respiratory and gastrointestinal systems is the most severe in patients with co-morbid conditions, including the immunocompromised. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease are often malnourished and on immunosuppressive medications; management of this population poses unique challenges during this time. In this review, we summarize the current evidence and understanding of the management of inflammatory bowel disease during the COVID-19 pandemic. We further outline the current guidelines for treatment of those with inflammatory bowel disease and offer education for measures to prevent infections, including COVID-19.