The use of, and outcomes for, inflammatory bowel disease services during the Covid‐19 pandemic: a nationwide observational study

BACKGROUND: Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) services have been particularly affected by the Covid‐19 pandemic. Delays in referral to secondary care and access to investigations and surgery have been exacerbated. AIMS: To investigate the use of and outcomes for emergency IBD care during the Covid‐19 pandemic. METHODS: Nationwide observational study using administrative data for England (2015‐2020) comparing cohorts admitted from 1 January 2015, to 31 January 2020 (pre‐pandemic) and from 1 February 2020, to 31 January 2021 (pandemic). Autoregressive integrated moving average forecast models were run to estimate the counterfactual IBD admissions and procedures for February 2020 to January 2021. RESULTS: Large decreases in attendances to hospital for emergency treatment were observed for both acute ulcerative colitis (UC, 16.4%) and acute Crohn’s disease (CD, 8.7%). The prevalence of concomitant Covid‐19 during the same episode was low [391/16 494 (2.4%) and 349/15 613 (2.2%), respectively]. No significant difference in 30‐day mortality was observed. A shorter median length of stay by 1 day for acute IBD admissions was observed (P < 0.0001). A higher rate of emergency readmission within 28 days for acute UC was observed (14.1% vs 13.4%, P = 0.012). All IBD procedures and investigations showed decreases in volume from February 2020 to January 2021 compared with counterfactual estimates. The largest absolute deficit was in endoscopy (17 544 fewer procedures, 35.2% reduction). CONCLUSION: 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.