COVID‐19 outcomes in patients with inflammatory bowel diseases in Latin America: Results from SECURE‐IBD registry

• Published in: Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology Vol. 36; no. 11; pp. 3033 - 3040
• Main Authors: Queiroz, Natália S F, Martins, Camilla de Almeida, Quaresma, Abel B, Hino, Adriano A F, Steinwurz, Flavio, Ungaro, Ryan C, Kotze, Paulo G
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: Australia John Wiley & Sons, Inc 01.11.2021; Wiley Subscription Services, Inc; John Wiley and Sons Inc
• Subjects: Adrenal Cortex Hormones - therapeutic use; Aged; Clinical Gastroenterology; Colitis, Ulcerative - drug therapy; Colitis, Ulcerative - epidemiology; Corticosteroids; COVID-19; COVID-19 - diagnosis; COVID-19 - epidemiology; Crohn Disease - drug therapy; Crohn Disease - epidemiology; Crohn's disease; Death; Fatalities; Gastroenterology; Humans; Inflammatory bowel disease; Inflammatory bowel diseases; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - complications; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - drug therapy; Inflammatory Bowel Diseases - epidemiology; Intestine; Latin America; Latin America - epidemiology; Pandemics; Patients; Registries; Risk factors; SARS-CoV-2; Steroids; Ulcerative colitis; Latin America; COVID-19; Crohn's disease; Latin America; Ulcerative colitis
• ISSN: 0815-9319; 1440-1746
• DOI: 10.1111/jgh.15588

Background and Aim One of the most impacted regions by the pandemic globally, Latin America is facing socioeconomic and health‐care challenges that can potentially affect disease outcomes. Recent data suggest that inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients do not have an increased risk of the development of COVID‐19 complications. However, the impact of COVID‐19 on IBD patients living in least developed areas remains to be fully elucidated. This study aims to describe the outcomes of IBD patients diagnosed with COVID‐19 in countries from Latin America based on data from the SECURE‐IBD registry. Methods Patients from Latin America enrolled in the SECURE‐IBD registry were included. Descriptive analyses were used to summarize clinical and sociodemographic characteristics. The studied outcomes were (i) a composite of need for intensive care unit admission, ventilator use, and/or death (primary outcome) and (ii) a composite of any hospitalization and/or death (secondary outcome). Multivariable regression was used to identify risk factors of severe COVID‐19. Results During the study period, 230 cases (Crohn's disease: n = 115, ulcerative colitis: n = 114, IBD‐unclassified [IBD‐U]: n = 1) were reported to the SECURE‐IBD database from 13 different countries. Primary outcome was observed in 17 (7.4%) patients, and the case fatality rate was 1.7%. In the adjusted multivariable model, the use of systemic corticosteroids (odds ratio [OR] 10.97; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 3.44–34.99) was significantly associated with the primary outcome. Older age (OR 1.03; 95% CI: 1.00–1.05), systemic corticosteroids (OR 9.33; 95% CI: 3.84–22.63), and the concomitant presence of one (OR 2.14; 95% CI: 0.89–5.15) or two (OR 10.67; 95% CI: 1.74–65.72) comorbidities were associated with the outcome of hospitalization or death. Conclusion Inflammatory bowel disease patients with COVID‐19 in Latin America appear to have similar outcomes to the overall global data. Risk factors of severe COVID‐19 are similar to prior reports.