"Inflammatory Bowel Disease Patients Have Lower Risk of Relapse During Overseas Travel If Fecal Inflammation Levels Are Low"

Professor Yoon Hyuk's Team, Department of Gastroenterology, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital
Study on 94 Patients Who Traveled Abroad

Professor Yoon Hyuk, Department of Gastroenterology, Bundang Seoul National University Hospital.

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Gwan-joo] A study has found that even patients with inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) can travel abroad like the general public if they check their fecal inflammation levels (calprotectin) before traveling and prepare for self-treatment during the trip through consultation with specialists.

Professor Yoon Hyuk of the Department of Gastroenterology at Bundang Seoul National University Hospital and Professor Park Ji-hye of the Department of Gastroenterology at Sinchon Severance Hospital announced on the 2nd that their research team studied 94 IBD patients who traveled abroad between 2018 and 2020 and confirmed these findings.

Inflammatory bowel disease is a chronic immune disease characterized by inflammation in the intestines lasting at least three months, with repeated remission and relapse. Representative diseases include ulcerative colitis (colon) and Crohn's disease (digestive tract). When symptoms are uncontrolled, they negatively affect daily life due to fecal urgency (inability to hold stool), diarrhea, bloody stools, and abdominal pain.

It is mainly treated with medications such as anti-inflammatory drugs, steroids, immunomodulators, and biologics, but surgery is required if these are ineffective. Since it is a chronic disease with an unknown root cause, even patients in remission can suddenly experience relapse and require prompt and appropriate treatment from medical staff. The problem is that most patients are young and frequently travel abroad, but predicting symptom relapse is difficult, which has limited or shortened overseas travel.

The research team analyzed various factors of IBD patients who traveled abroad, including ▲comorbidities ▲biologic treatment ▲fecal inflammation levels before travel ▲flight time and travel duration. The results showed that 16% of patients experienced symptom relapse; these patients had higher fecal inflammation levels, suffered from comorbidities such as hypertension or diabetes, and had a history of emergency room visits. On the other hand, factors expected to be related, such as immunomodulator and biologic administration, flight time, and travel duration, had little impact.

According to this study, IBD patients planning to travel abroad are expected to be able to travel like the general public if they check their fecal inflammation levels and comorbidities before travel and prepare a treatment plan during the trip through consultation with their specialist. Professor Yoon Hyuk explained, “If you are in remission and your fecal inflammation level is not high, you can travel abroad without much worry,” adding, “For those receiving biologic treatment, it is recommended to consult with your primary doctor before traveling to adjust intravenous injection schedules or bring self-injection kits.”

This study was published in the SCIE international journal ‘PLOS ONE.’

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