covid-19 in children with inflammatory bowel disease: a systematic review

Background: considering the chronic immunosuppression in inflammatory bowel disease (ibd) patients, it is necessary to evaluate the course of covid-19 in these patients. studies have shown various results in adult ibd patients. this study aimed to find out the course of this infection in pediatric ibd patients. methods: this was a systematic review study according to the prisma 2020 guideline. international databases including scopus, pubmed, and the web of science were searched with a combination of “covid-19” and “ibd” or synonyms until october 16, 2021. studies that have reported the outcomes of covid-19 infection in patients less than 19 years of age were selected. name of author, country, study duration and type, ibd type and drugs, and covid-19 outcomes were extracted. results: from the initially retrieved 2215 articles, finally 16 articles were eligible. data from 1040 pediatric ibd patients were reported. twenty-four patients were hospitalized, 5 developed patients multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, and others had a mild disease course and were outpatient. steroid use, severe ibd activity, and comorbidities were shown to increase risk of hospitalization and disease severity. conclusion: covid-19 is a benign and self-limited disease in pediatric ibd patients. comorbidities, steroid use, and severe ibd activity affect the outcomes.