Erica Brenner, MD: The Success of the SECURE-IBD Database

As researchers try to grasp every aspect of the novel coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), a worldwide database for inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) patients is having a meaningful impact.

Surveillance Epidemiology of Coronavirus Under Research Exclusion (SECURE-IBD) is a registry that allows clinicians to monitor and report on outcomes of COVID-19 occurring in IBD patients in an effort to maintain real-time data on whether certain diseases or treatments tend to cause worse viral outcomes.

In an interview with HCPLive®, Erica Brenner, MD, Pediatric Gastroenterology, University of North Carolina, explains how the database will allow researchers to be flexible in their approach to the ongoing pandemic.

By having real-time data, Brenner said experts continue to agree with the current guidelines of IBD patients on immunosuppressants should continue to take their treatment and are not at a higher risk of more severe outcomes.

However, there is also a need to approach each patient’s circumstances differently.

“I think it is important to take it on a case-by-case basis because in some situations if a patient has contracted COVID-19 than their doctor may recommend delaying the dose of that medication, at least until symptoms have resolved,” Brenner said.

Brenner currently serves on the SECURE-IBD International Advisory Committee.