The Impact of COVID-19 on the Health Care Utilization of Inflammatory Bowel Disease

The rapid spread of COVID-19 is expected to have a significant impact on medicine as well as all sectors worldwide. In particular, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic immune disease in which remission and activation are repeated and must be treated consistently throughout life. In addition, patients with IBD may be vulnerable to various infectious diseases due to the immuno-compromised state due to the use of immuno-suppressants or biological agents. During a pandemic, patients with IBD may postpone hospital visits due to concerns about infection with COVID-19, and if they cannot continue drug treatment, there is a concern about the flare up IBD disease activity. Therefore, in this study, we would like to investigate the current status of hospital utilization of IBD patients in Daegu, the epidemic area of COVID-19, and to investigate the effect of patient perception of COVID-19 on hospital ultilization.