Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection: Results of the Prospective Controlled Multinational GI-COVID-19 Study

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in coronavirus-19 disease (COVID-19) have been reported with great variability and without standardization. In hospitalized patients, we aimed to evaluate the prevalence of GI symptoms, factors associated with their occurrence, and variation at 1 month. METHODS: The GI-COVID-19 is a prospective, multicenter, controlled study. Patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis were recruited at hospital admission and asked for GI symptoms at admission and after 1 month, using the validated Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale questionnaire. RESULTS: The study included 2036 hospitalized patients. A total of 871 patients (575 COVID+ and 296 COVID−) were included for the primary analysis. GI symptoms occurred more frequently in patients with COVID-19 (59.7%; 343/575 patients) than in the control group (43.2%; 128/296 patients) (P < 0.001). Patients with COVID-19 complained of higher presence or intensity of nausea, diarrhea, loose stools, and urgency as compared with controls. At a 1-month follow-up, a reduction in the presence or intensity of GI symptoms was found in COVID-19 patients with GI symptoms at hospital admission. Nausea remained increased over controls. Factors significantly associated with nausea persistence in COVID-19 were female sex, high body mass index, the presence of dyspnea, and increased C-reactive protein levels. DISCUSSION: The prevalence of GI symptoms in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 is higher than previously reported. Systemic and respiratory symptoms are often associated with GI complaints. Nausea may persist after the resolution of COVID-19 infection.

Gastrointestinal sequalae months after severe acute respiratory syndrome corona virus 2 infection: a prospective, observational study

“…in group with moderate-to-severe course of the disease acute diarrhea was present in 31% of cases compared with 8.3% at the follow-up survey). This trend is also supported by conclusions from other studies [19,[21][22][23]. Blackett et al [24] reported the presence of acute diarrhea in 23% of patients with COVID-19 and in 4.1% during the follow-up of 106 days.…”

“…Recently published multicentric study showed that acute nausea in hospitalized patients tends to persist 1 month after the infection. Risk factors were female sex, high BMI, dyspnea and increased C-reactive protein [23].…”

Gastrointestinal manifestations of long COVID: A systematic review and meta-analysis

“…There was only one study reporting frequency of constipation in patients with long COVID. 18 , 25 , 43 , 52 The frequency of dyspepsia as a GI manifestation of long COVID-19 was reported by three studies (910 patients of COVID-19). 29 , 31 , 59 The frequency of dyspepsia after long COVID was 0.20 (95% CI, 0.06–0.50, I 2 = 97%) 29 , 52 ( Figure 4 ).…”

“…Table 1 shows the details of the included studies with the study design, type of population, symptoms, duration, and the information provided. 13 – 62 Supplemental Table 2 shows the excluded studies with reasons of exclusion.…”

COVID 19 y enfermedad hepática: un panorama que está siendo aclarado

“…Un estudio que incluyó 2036 pacientes hospitalizados con COVID-19 puso de manifiesto que los síntomas gastrointestinales ocurren en un 59,7 %, siendo las náuseas, la diarrea, las heces blandas y urgencias las más importantes; las náuseas pueden persistir incluso después de la resolución de la infección (11) .…”