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IBD: Steroids, but not TNF blockers, raise risk of severe COVID-19

Publish date:: May 26, 2020

Key clinical point: For patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), use of corticosteroids, sulfasalazine, or 5-aminosalicylates may increase risk of severe COVID-19, while tumor necrosis factor blockers appear to have no significant effects on COVID-19 disease course.

Major finding: Patients with IBD and COVID-19 who received corticosteroids had a sevenfold increased risk of severe COVID-19 (adjusted odds ratio, 6.87; 95% confidence interval, 2.30-20.51).

Study details: An observational cohort study involving 525 patients with IBD and COVID-19 from the Surveillance Epidemiology of Coronavirus Under Research Exclusion for Inflammatory Bowel Disease (SECURE-IBD) database.

Disclosures: The study was funded by the National Institutes of Health. The investigators disclosed relationships with Takeda, Janssen, Pfizer, and others.

Citation:

Brenner EJ et al. Gastroenterology. 2020 May 18. doi: 10.1053/j.gastro.2020.05.032.

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