Gastrointestinal symptoms in COVID-19 could be associated with severe lung involvement and increased readmission rates

Abstract

Introduction SARS-CoV-2 virus manifests itself with primary lung damage but also has intestinal involvement. In this study, we aimed to investigate the frequency of gastrointestinal symptoms (GIS) and the relationship of GIS with readmission to the hospital within 30 days in SARS-CoV-2 infected patients who were hospitalized in a specified pandemic hospital. Materials and Methods Symptomatic patients diagnosed with rapid antibody positivity with real-time polymerase chain reaction and typical thorax computed tomography findings were included in this retrospective cohort observational study. Demographic and clinical data were obtained from electronic medical records. Hospital-associated GIS were considered as experiencing at least one of the GIS such as gas, bloating, diarrhea, and constipation developing within72 h after hospital admission. Results The mean age of the patients was 58 ± 14.4 years and 60.7% were men. 82% of hospitalizations were a moderate and severe disease. 71.4% of patients without GIS had at least one of the GIS after hospitalization. As the severity of the disease increased, the frequency of the severity of gastrointestinal symptom increased. GIS bowel disorders were more prominent in patients with moderate and severe disease. Antibiotic and specific treatment (anti-Il-1, anti-Il-6) contributed to the occurrence of gastrointestinal symptom in SARS-CoV-2 inpatients. Conclusion According to our observations of the second wave of the pandemic, the presence, frequency, and severity of gastrointestinal symptom in inpatient is associated with severity of lung disease and increased readmission rate after discharge.

COVID-19 severity is associated with population-level gut microbiome variations

“…The depleted levels of the Bifidobacteria genus are consistent with other studies ( Bozkurt and Bilen, 2021a ). Additionally, hospitalised patients that received a B.animalis probiotic were reported to have reduced mortality and improved symptomatology, as well as a reduction in IL-6 ( Bozkurt and Bilen, 2021b ).…”

“…Of note, it did not resolve when the infection cleared ( Zuo et al., 2021 ). Additionally, these patients show an increase in gastrointestinal symptoms ( Bozkurt and Bilen, 2021a ). While such reports show that the microbiome differs in more severely ill patients, they cannot explain the causality of this association.…”

Systematic Review on COVID-19 Readmission and Risk Factors: Future of Machine Learning in COVID-19 Readmission Studies

“…Apart from the conventional risk factors which increase the risk of readmission, interestingly, the rate of readmission increases significantly in patients with dysbiotic gastrointestinal symptoms, according to a gastrointestinal study in Istanbul ( 32 ). Also, the study found that intestinal microbiota affects disease morbidity and mortality ( 33 ).…”

Role of H2 receptor blocker famotidine over the clinical recovery of COVID-19 patients: A randomized controlled trial

“…Our study and other famotidine studies suggest an association between the use of famotidine and improved outcomes among the hospitalized patients with COVID-19. This was also suggested by a series of famotidine studies with quantitative symptom tracking in non-hospitalized patients[ 5 , 16 ]. Samimagham et al [ 17 ] also conducted a randomized trial on the effect of famotidine on the recovery process of hospitalized COVID-19 patients in which the intervention group received standard pharmacotherapy according to the treatment protocols of the National Committee of COVID-19.…”