Crohn’s & Colitis Congress 2021: Caring for Children with IBD Amid the Pandemic

Announcer:
Welcome to Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation Perspectives on ReachMD. Here’s your host,Dr.Charles Turck.

Dr. Turck:
This is Dr. Charles Turck from ReachMD, here talking to several faculty from the upcoming Crohn’s and Colitis Congress, a partnership of the Crohn’s and Colitis Foundation and the American Gastroenterological Association. Joining me to talk about some of the highlights from his upcoming presentation at the Congress is Dr. Michael Kappelman from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. Dr. Kappelman, it’s great to have you with us.

Dr. Kappelman:
Absolutely. A pleasure to be here.

Dr. Turck:
So, you’ll be speaking on pressing knowledge gaps in pediatric IBD in the context of COVID-19 at the Congress, and I’d love to hear a quick overview of the topics you’ll be covering during your presentation.

Dr. Kappelman:
Sure. So, we’ll provide a brief overview of many of the issues and key questions related to the care of children with IBD during the current COVID-19 pandemic. We’ll review some emerging data from SECURE-IBD and other studies that can be used to inform the care of pediatric IBD patients, and finally conclude with a few practice points.

Dr. Turck:
What do you think will be the key take-away from your presentation?

Dr. Kappelman:
You know, like in the general population, I think we are continuing to learn that children with IBD really do have a low risk of developing serious complications from COVID-19, and with the exception of corticosteroids, most IBD medications do not substantially affect this risk.

Dr. Turck:
And from your perspective, how might your peers best translate what they’ll learn from your presentation into practice?

Dr. Kappelman:
Yeah. I really think the data that we’ll be reviewing over the course of the presentation will help inform treatment decisions regarding starting or continuing IBD therapies over the course of the pandemic, and hopefully will provide guidance and largely reassurance to families that they can incorporate into so many of these important decisions about attending school, participating in sports and other activities and sort of get back to the new normal.

Dr. Turck:
Dr. Kappelman, thank you so much for taking the time to speak with us today. We’re eager to hear your presentation and the other great content from the 2021 Crohn’s and Colitis Congress taking place January 21st through 24th.

Dr. Kappelman:
Thank you. I look forward to seeing many of you soon.

Dr. Turck:
Learn more about this and other presentations at www.crohnscolitiscongress.org. I’m Dr. Charles Turck with ReachMD, and thank you for joining us.

Announcer:
This episode was brought to you in collaboration with the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation and the American Gastroenterological Association. To learn more about the Crohn's & Colitis Congress, please visit crohnscolitiscongress.org. Thanks for listening!