Screening for active COVID-19 infection and immunization status prior to biologic therapy in IBD patients at the time of the pandemic outbreak.
Dig Liver Dis
; 52(6): 604-605, 2020 06.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-45734
ABSTRACT
Coronavirus disease 2019 has been recently classified as pandemic infection by the World Health Organization. Patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) are invited to follow the national recommendations as any other person. It is unclear whether a more aggressive clinical course might develop in asymptomatic COVID-19 infected subjects during biological therapy and current evidence does not support treatment suspension. However, during pandemic, the start of treatment with immunosuppressive drugs and biologics should be postponed whenever possible and based on an individual risk assessment. When clinical conditions and the disease activity do not allow a treatment delay, before starting a biological therapy, screening of IBD patients for COVID-19 active infection by RT-PCR should be advisable, even in absence of clinical suspicion. Serum antibody testing, when available, could provide evidence of infection as well as identify patients already immune to the disease.
Keywords
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Pneumonia, Viral
/
Biological Therapy
/
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases
/
Infection Control
/
Coronavirus Infections
/
Pandemics
/
Betacoronavirus
/
Immunosuppressive Agents
Type of study:
Diagnostic study
/
Observational study
/
Prognostic study
Limits:
Humans
Country/Region as subject:
Europa
Language:
English
Journal:
Dig Liver Dis
Journal subject:
Gastroenterology
Year:
2020
Document Type:
Article
Affiliation country:
J.dld.2020.04.004
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