P899 Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Show More Recognizable Digestive Symptoms of COVID-19: A Questionnaire Study

Abstract

Abstract Background It's important to manage IBD patients in the era of coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19). However, there is few studies on the clinical symptoms and prognosis of COVID-19 in IBD patients. Methods A web-based survey concerning symptoms of COVID-19 in people with or without IBD was designed. A pilot-test was carried out to ensure the feasibility of the questionnaire. Propensity score matching (PSM) was used to compensate for differences in baseline characteristics. Wilcoxon rank-sum test and Chi-square test were used to compare the clinical and prognosis differences between two groups. Results A total of 1274 individuals (including 631 with IBD) completed the questionnaire. After the use of PSM, 786 cases including 393 of IBD and non-IBD individuals respectively were included in the analysis. Fever and nasal congestion were the most common clinical manifestations of COVID-19 in our study. As for gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, more IBD patients presented with new-onset abdominal pain (26.7% vs. 12.7%, p<0.001), diarrhea (22.4% vs. 14.5%, p<0.005) and altered bowel habits (38.7% vs. 24.9%, p<0.001). Conclusion COVID-19-related GI symptoms are more common in IBD patients. It is important to rule out COVID-19 infection in patients experiencing recurrence or exacerbation of GI symptoms.