Letter: inflammatory bowel disease services during the Covid-19 pandemic.

Editors

In their recent publication, Deputy et al concluded that “There is likely a significant burden of untreated IBD in the community. Patients with IBD may experience clinical harm or protracted decreases in quality of life if care is not prioritised.” The effect of the COVID‐19 pandemic and subsequent lockdown on the medical care of patients is extensively discussed. The reduction of services might imply that only patients with pressing issues presented for medical care during the crisis. Nevertheless, this depends on local policies on lockdown and the phase of the outbreak. At different phases of the outbreak, the intensity of lockdown policies might have been different, and local service limitation policies of individual medical centers might also have affected the provision of care. Finally, a recent report showed that age and the background severity of patients' illness are important determinants for disease exacerbation during the COVID‐19 pandemic period. These data should be analysed to understand the real effects of the pandemic on patients with IBD.

CONFLICT OF INTEREST

Authors cannot pay for any charge and ask for full waiving for this correspondence.