Endoscopy in inflammatory bowel diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic period

Marietta Iacucci; Rosanna Cannatelli; Nunzia Labarile; Ren Mao; Remo Panaccione; Silvio Danese; Gursimran S Kochhar; Subrata Ghosh; Bo Shen

doi:10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30119-9

Endoscopy in inflammatory bowel diseases during the COVID-19 pandemic and post-pandemic period

Lancet Gastroenterol Hepatol. 2020 Jun;5(6):598-606. doi: 10.1016/S2468-1253(20)30119-9. Epub 2020 Apr 16.

Authors

Marietta Iacucci¹, Rosanna Cannatelli², Nunzia Labarile³, Ren Mao⁴, Remo Panaccione⁵, Silvio Danese⁶, Gursimran S Kochhar⁷, Subrata Ghosh⁸, Bo Shen⁹

Affiliations

¹ Institute of Translational of Medicine, Institute of immunology and immunotherapy and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
² Institute of Translational of Medicine, Institute of immunology and immunotherapy and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Department of Gastroenterology, Spedali Civili of Brescia, Italy.
³ Institute of Translational of Medicine, Institute of immunology and immunotherapy and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Section of Gastroenterology, Department of Emergency and Organ Transplantation, University of Bari, Italy.
⁴ Department of Gastroenterology, The First Affiliated Hospital of Sun Yat-Sen University, Guangzhou, China; Department of Inflammation and Immunity, Lerner Research Institute, Cleveland Clinic, OH, USA.
⁵ Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada.
⁶ IBD Center, Department of Gastroenterology, Humanitas Clinical and Research Center, IRCCS, Rozzano, Milan, Italy; Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Milan, Italy.
⁷ Department of Gastroenterology, Hepatology & Nutrition, Allegheny Health Network, Pittsburgh, PA, USA.
⁸ Institute of Translational of Medicine, Institute of immunology and immunotherapy and NIHR Biomedical Research Centre, University of Birmingham and University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust, UK; Department of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada. Electronic address: ghoshs@bham.ac.uk.
⁹ Center for Inflammatory Bowel Disease, Columbia University Irving Medical Center/New York-Presbyterian Hospital, New York, NY, USA.

Abstract

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic is changing the management of many chronic diseases, including that of patients with inflammatory bowel diseases (IBD). In particular, the performance of routine endoscopy is temporarily suspended, and only emergency endoscopy is allowed in many countries where severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has spread. We highlight different scenarios in which endoscopy should still be performed urgently in patients with IBD, as well as recommendations regarding the use of personal protective equipment. We suggest a pathway for performing safe endoscopy and discuss the potential risks of postponing endoscopy in IBD. Finally, we propose a post-pandemic plan for access to endoscopy.

Publication types

Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
Review

MeSH terms

Betacoronavirus
COVID-19
Coronavirus Infections / epidemiology*
Endoscopy, Digestive System*
Humans
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / diagnosis
Inflammatory Bowel Diseases / surgery*
Pandemics
Pneumonia, Viral / epidemiology*
Practice Guidelines as Topic
SARS-CoV-2