J Korean Med Sci.  2021 Dec;36(48):e336. 10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e336.

Clinical Course of COVID-19 in Patients with Inflammatory Bowel Disease in Korea: a KASID Multicenter Study

• Lee JW
• Song EM
• Jung SA
• Jung SH
• Kim KW
• Koh SJ
• Lee HJ
• Hong SW
• Park JH
• Hwang SW
• Yang DH
• Ye BD
• Byeon JS
• Myung SJ
• Yang SK
• Park SH
• on behalf of the IBD Research Group of the Korean Association for the Study of Intestinal Diseases

• KMID: 2523309
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.3346/jkms.2021.36.e336

Abstract

In 2020, the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) began to spread worldwide and remains an ongoing medical challenge. This case series reports on the clinical features and characteristics of patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) and confirmed COVID-19 infection. From February 2020 to March 2021, nine patients with IBD had confirmed COVID-19 across four hospitals in Korea. The median age at COVID-19 diagnosis was 42 years. Six patients were male, and seven patients had ulcerative colitis (UC). No patients required oxygen therapy, intensive care unit hospitalizations, or died. The most common symptom was fever, and gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms developed as diarrhea in five patients with UC. Oral steroids were used to combat UC aggravation in two patients. In this case series of nine IBD patients diagnosed with COVID-19 in Korea, the clinical presentation was predominately a mild respiratory tract infection. Most patients with UC developed new GI symptoms including diarrhea.

Keyword

COVID-19; Crohn's Disease; Inflammatory Bowel Disease; Ulcerative Colitis

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