Absence of COVID-19 Infection in Patients Accessing IBD Unit at Humanitas, Milan: Implications for Postlockdown Measures.

Abstract

INTRODUCTION:The risk of coronavirus disease-19 infection for healthcare professionals and patients in hospitals remains unclear.METHODS:We investigated whether precautions adopted in our inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) unit have minimized the risks of infection for all patients accessing our facilities in a 1-month period by assessing the rate of coronavirus disease-19 infection in the follow-up period.RESULTS:Three hundred-twenty patients with IBD were included. None were infected from severe acute respiratory syndrome-coronavirus 2 in the follow-up period. None of the IBD team members were infected.DISCUSSION:Neither pharmacological immunosuppression nor access to the hospital seem to be risk factors for infection in patients with IBD.