Impact of Biologics on SARS-COV-2 Disease Course When Infused Within 2 Weeks of Acquiring the Infection Among IBD Patients.

SARS-CoV-2 was first identified in Wuhan in December 2019 and since then it has progressed into a pandemic that evolves continuously. As of May 5, 2022, there have been more than 81 million cases and 994,187 deaths in the United States. Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is a chronic inflammatory disorder of the gastrointestinal tract consisting of ulcerative colitis and Crohn's disease treated with immunosuppressive/immunomodulatory agents. Over the course of the pandemic different aspects of the interaction between SARS-COV-2 and IBD medications have been studied. At the onset of the pandemic there was decreased use of infusible biologics. Despite the passage of time an area that has not been explored is the impact of biologics on the clinical course of SARS-COV-2 when given soon after the detection of infection. Our aim was to determine the impact of biologics on the clinical course of SARS-COV-2 among patients with IBD, when given 1-2 weeks postinfection among stable patients. This is of critical importance because patients may delay getting their scheduled treatment, which in turn could adversely affect their clinical condition.