Smith College

IBD refers to the chronic inflammation of all or some regions of the digestive tract that periodically flairs up. In general, patients with IBD are at an increased risk of infection, especially when receiving steroid or immunosuppressant treatment. The type of immunosuppresive drug and the patient's sex and age affect the nature and magnitude of this risk.  Some COVID-19 symptoms mirror IBD manifestations, so it is currently recommended that medical practitioners test known IBD patients for a SARS-CoV-2 infection before assuming that their symptoms are the result of their autoimmune disorder.  

- IBD in COVID-19 Patients by Geographic Location 
- A guide to minimizing spread of infectious diseases for IBD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic 

Inflammatory Bowel Disease (IBD) in COVID-19 

Danese, S., Cecconi, M., & Spinelli, A. (2020). Management of IBD during the COVID-19 outbreak: resetting clinical priorities. Nature Reviews Gastroenterology & Hepatology, 17(5), 253-255.

https://doi.org/10.1038/s41575-020-0294-8
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41575-020-0294-8

Management of IBD during the COVID-19 outbreak: resetting clinical priorities

IBD in COVID-19 Patients by Geographic Location 

A guide to minimizing spread of infectious diseases for IBD patients during the COVID-19 pandemic

It was hypothesized that IBD patients would be at a higher risk for developing severe COVID-19 because of their overactive immune responses and chronic gut inflammation which would result in increased ACE2 expression.  However, a recent study shows that neither inflammation nor medication related to IBD increase ACE2 and TMPRSS2 expression in the gut.  While soluble ACE2 expression may increase, which actually has a protective effect against SARS-CoV-2 infections, full length ACE2 that acts as the cellular receptor for the virus does not.  

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