Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on inflammatory bowel disease care in Taiwan: A multicenter study

• Published in: Journal of the Formosan Medical Association Vol. 122; no. 10; pp. 1042 - 1049
• Main Authors: Peng, Yen-Ling, Chang, Chung-Hsin, Wei, Shu-Chen, Huang, Tien-Yu, Tai, Wei-Chen, Hsu, Wen-Hung, Wu, Deng-Chyang, Yen, Hsu-Heng, Tai, Chi-Ming, Chang, Chen-Wang, Lin, Wei-Chen, Wang, Horng-Yuan, Lin, Chun-Chi, Kuo, Chia-Jung, Chiu, Cheng-Tang, Lin, Ching-Pin, Lee, Hsi-Chang, Wu, Jia-Feng, Chung, Chen-Shuan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Singapore Elsevier B.V 01.10.2023; Formosan Medical Association, Elsevier
• Subjects: COVID-19; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Humans; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - complications; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - drug therapy; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - epidemiology; Original; Pandemics; Patient education; Prospective Studies; SARS-CoV-2; Taiwan - epidemiology; Taiwan; Inflammatory bowel disease; COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; Patient education
• ISSN: 0929-6646; 1876-0821; 0929-6646
• DOI: 10.1016/j.jfma.2023.03.017

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic had a great impact on healthcare system and patients. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the perceptions of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD). This prospective multicenter study was conducted between July 2021 and December 2021. Patients with IBD answered a structured questionnaire, and their degree of anxiety was assessed using a visual analogue scale (VAS) before and after reading educational materials. A total of 225 (47.67%) patients with Crohn's disease, 244 (51.69%) with ulcerative colitis and 3 (0.64%) with indeterminate colitis were enrolled. Common concerns were adverse events from vaccination (20.34%), and higher risks of developing severe COVID-19 (19.28%) and COVID-19 infection (16.31%) than the general population. Medications deemed by the patients to increase the risk of COVID-19 were immunomodulators (16.10%), anti-tumor necrosis factor-α antagonists (9.96%), and corticosteroids (9.32%). Thirty-five (7.42%) patients self-discontinued IBD medication, of whom 12 (34.28%) had worse symptoms. Older age (>50 years) (OR 1.10, 95% CI 1.01–1.19, p = 0.03), IBD-related complications (OR 1.16, 95% CI 1.04–1.28, p = 0.01), education status below senior high school (OR 1.22, 95% CI 1.08–1.37, p = 0.001), and residing in north–central Taiwan (OR 1.21, 95% CI 1.10–1.34, p < 0.001) were associated with more anxiety. None of the enrolled patients contracted COVID-19. The anxiety VAS score (mean ± SD) improved after reading the educational materials (3.84 ± 2.33 vs. 2.81 ± 1.96, p < 0.001). The medical behavior of IBD patients was influenced by the COVID-19 pandemic, and their anxiety could be mitigated after education.