Anxiety and behavioral changes in Japanese patients with inflammatory bowel disease due to COVID-19 pandemic: a national survey.

BACKGROUND: Given the increasing health concerns for patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), amidst the COVID-19 pandemic, we investigated the impact of the pandemic on the anxiety and behavioral changes in Japanese patients with IBD. METHODS: We analyzed 3032 questionnaires from patients with IBD, aged 16 years or older visiting 30 hospitals and 1 clinic between March 2020 and June 2021. The primary outcome was the score of the anxiety experienced by patients with IBD during the pandemic. RESULTS: Participants reported a median age of 44 years; 43.3% of the patients were women. Moreover, 60.6% and 39.4% were diagnosed with ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease, respectively, with a median disease duration of 10 years. Participants indicated an average of disease-related anxiety score of 5.1 ± 2.5 on a ten-point scale, with a tendency to increase, 1 month after the number of infected persons per population increased. The top three causes for anxiety were the risk of contracting COVID-19 during hospital visits, SARS-CoV-2 infection due to IBD, and infection by IBD medication. Factors associated with anxiety were gender (women), being a homemaker, hospital visit timings, mode of transportation (train), use of immunosuppressive drugs, and nutritional therapy. Most patients continued attending their scheduled hospital visits, taking their medications, experienced the need for a family doctor, and sought guidance and information regarding COVID-19 from primary doctors, television, and Internet news. CONCLUSIONS: Patients with IBD experienced moderate disease-related anxiety due to the pandemic and should be proactively informed about infectious diseases to relieve their anxiety.

Alpha-Fetoprotein-Producing Gastric Cancer With Delayed Diagnosis Caused by COVID-19: A Case Report.

A 70-year-old man was diagnosed with coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). The patient had suspected upper gastrointestinal bleeding during the course of the COVID-19 infection. Urgent esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) was performed. However, because of mobility restrictions imposed as a COVID-19 countermeasure, EGD was done in a small hospital room. Hemostatic treatment was successful, but no sufficient close examination could be done. The patient, who was diagnosed as having alpha-fetoprotein-producing gastric cancer, died about three months later.