Beyond the survey, to the ideal therapy for Asian.

Abstract

This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/) which permits unrestricted non-commercial use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. 280 fections can be fatal for patients. Therefore, clinicians treating IBD must always be alert for infections. The main strategy to prevent infections is vaccination. In fact, clinical practice guidelines published by the European Crohn’s and Colitis Or­ ganisation and the American College of Gastroenterology stron­ gly recommend vaccination in patients with IBD. In addition, the global severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS­CoV2) pandemic highlighted the importance of vacci­ nation in immunocompromised patients and in patients with underlying chronic diseases, such as IBD; Lee et al. strongly recommended SARS­CoV2 vaccination for the patients with IBD who are treated with immunosuppressants and biologic agents, since the benefits outweigh the risks. In patients with IBD, vaccines against viruses, such as hepa­ titis B virus, hepatitis A virus, influenza, and human papilloma­ virus, as well as vaccines against bacteria, such as pneumococ­ cus, are recommended. However, the timing of vaccinations is yet to be established. Mishra et al. reported that although hepatitis B virus vaccination in patients with ulcerative colitis showed a lower serologic response than in general population, an appropriate vaccine effect could be expected if they are not exposed to corticosteroid, immunosuppressant, or biologic agents. Therefore, several guidelines have suggested the tim­ ing of vaccination as either at diagnosis or just prior to starting the immunosuppressive therapy. Despite the need and recommendations for vaccination, it may not be implemented in practice for a variety of reasons. A survey of gastroenterologists’ practices regarding vaccination in patients with IBD in the United States reported that while pISSN 1598-9100 • eISSN 2288-1956 https://doi.org/10.5217/ir.2023.00075 Intest Res 2023;21(3):280-282