Suda T, Takahashi M, Katayama Y, Tamano M. COVID-19 pandemic and exacerbation of ulcerative colitis. World J Clin Cases 2021; 9(36): 11220-11227 [PMID: 35071552 DOI: 10.12998/wjcc.v9.i36.11220]
Corresponding Author of This Article
Toshikuni Suda, MD, PhD, Doctor, Instructor, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center, 2-1-50 Minami-Koshigaya, Koshigaya-Shi, Saitama, Koshigaya 343-8555, Japan. toshikuni.suda@gmail.com
Research Domain of This Article
Psychology
Article-Type of This Article
Retrospective Study
Open-Access Policy of This Article
This article is an open-access article which was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Toshikuni Suda, Yasumi Katayama, Masaya Tamano, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center, Koshigaya 343-8555, Japan
Morio Takahashi, Department of Gastroenterology, Morio Clinic, Koshigaya 343-0808, Japan
Author contributions: Suda T recruited patients and drafted the manuscript; Takahashi M designed the study and analyzed data; Katayama Y revised the manuscript; Tamano M supervised the study.
Institutional review board statement: This study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee of Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center (approval No. 20100).
Informed consent statement: All patients provided informed consent to participate in this study and agreed to publication of the research results.
Conflict-of-interest statement: We have no financial relationships to disclose.
Data sharing statement: No additional data are available.
Open-Access: This article is an open-access article that was selected by an in-house editor and fully peer-reviewed by external reviewers. It is distributed in accordance with the Creative Commons Attribution NonCommercial (CC BY-NC 4.0) license, which permits others to distribute, remix, adapt, build upon this work non-commercially, and license their derivative works on different terms, provided the original work is properly cited and the use is non-commercial. See: http://creativecommons.org/Licenses/by-nc/4.0/
Corresponding author: Toshikuni Suda, MD, PhD, Doctor, Instructor, Department of Gastroenterology, Dokkyo Medical University Saitama Medical Center, 2-1-50 Minami-Koshigaya, Koshigaya-Shi, Saitama, Koshigaya 343-8555, Japan. toshikuni.suda@gmail.com
Received: June 7, 2021 Peer-review started: June 7, 2021 First decision: June 25, 2021 Revised: July 5, 2021 Accepted: November 15, 2021 Article in press: November 15, 2021 Published online: December 26, 2021
ARTICLE HIGHLIGHTS
Research background
In 2020, the global population was faced with the unprecedented crisis of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Besides the infection and its consequences, COVID-19 also resulted in anxiety and stress resulting from severe restrictions on economic and social activities.
Research motivation
Fresh, acute stress exerts stronger influences than continuous stress on ulcerative colitis (UC) patients, presenting in forms such as exacerbation.
Research objectives
To determine whether this first wave had serious effects on UC patients included in a retrospective controlled study.
Research methods
A total of 289 consecutive UC out-patients visited our clinic, who were included into the study, We assessed the modified UC disease activity index (UC-DAI) in each patient.
Research results
The exacerbation rate was significantly increased during the first wave of COVID-19, as compared with the previous year. Mean UC-DAI score was significantly higher in subjects during the first wave of COVID-19 than at the previous visit.
Research conclusions
This study demonstrated that the COVID-19 pandemic caused exacerbations in UC patients, probably through psychological and physical stress.
Research perspectives
Healthcare professionals involved in managing inflammatory bowel disease should pay attention to the psychological responses of patients to this pandemic and of possible ramifications for disease expression. Preventive treatment such as increased 5-ASA or local administration may be preferable in situations predicted to be stressful such as pandemics.
