Reduction in Inflammatory Bowel Disease Healthcare During the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic: A Nationwide Retrospective Cohort Study

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused a worldwide disruption of regular health care, with more than 37 million cases and over 1,000,000 deaths.1 After confirmation of the first COVID-19 patient in The Netherlands, a country with 17.4 million inhabitants and universal health care, on February 27, 2020, the pandemic rapidly spread across the country, reaching its first peak in April 2020.2 Regular health care, including inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) care, was strongly reduced to establish sufficient capacity for COVID-19 care and to prevent COVID-19 spread by patients and healthcare workers.