Prevalence of Gastrointestinal Symptoms in Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 Infection: Results of the Prospective Controlled Multinational GI-COVID-19 Study. (9th January 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Marasco, Giovanni; Cremon, Cesare; Barbaro, Maria Raffaella; Salvi, Daniele; Cacciari, Giulia; Kagramanova, Anna; Bordin, Dmitry; Drug, Vasile; Miftode, Edgidia; Fusaroli, Pietro; Mohamed, Salem Youssef; Ricci, Chiara; Bellini, Massimo; Rahman, M. Masudur; Melcarne, Luigi; Santos, Javier; Lobo, Beatriz; Bor, Serhat; Yapali, Suna; Akyol, Deniz; Sapmaz, Ferdane Pirincci; Urun, Yonca Yilmaz; Eskazan, Tugce; Celebi, Altay; Kacmaz, Huseyin; Ebik, Berat; Binicier, Hatice Cilem; Bugdayci, Mehmet Sait; Yağcı, Munkhtsetseg Banzragch; Pullukcu, Husnu; Kaya, Berrin Yalınbas; Tureyen, Ali; Hatemi, İbrahim; Koc, Elif Sitre; Sirin, Goktug; Calıskan, Ali Riza; Bengi, Goksel; Alıs, Esra Ergun; Lukic, Snezana; Trajkovska, Meri; Hod, Keren; Dumitrascu, Dan; Pietrangelo, Antonello; Corradini, Elena; Simren, Magnus; Sjolund, Jessica; Tornkvist, Navkiran; Ghoshal, Uday C.; Kolokolnikova, Olga; Colecchia, Antonio; Serra, Jordi; Maconi, Giovanni; De Giorgio, Roberto; Danese, Silvio; Portincasa, Pietro; Di Stefano, Michele; Maggio, Marcello; Philippou, Elena; Lee, Yeong Yeh; Venturi, Alessandro; Borghi, Claudio; Zoli, Marco; Gionchetti, Paolo; Viale, Pierluigi; Stanghellini, Vincenzo; Barbara, Giovanni;
• Is Part Of: American journal of gastroenterology. Volume 117:Number 1(2022)
• Page Start: 147
• Page End: 157
• Publication Date: 2022-01-09
• Subjects: Stomach -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Intestines -- Diseases -- Periodicals; Gastroenterology -- Periodicals; Gastrointestinal Diseases -- Periodicals; Electronic journals; Periodicals; 616.33
• DOI: 10.14309/ajg.0000000000001541
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0002-9270

Abstract

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.