Gastrointestinal Manifestations of COVID- 19

Abstract

Severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) has brought unpredictable challenges to the whole world by causing Coronavirus disease2019(COVID-19). Although respiratory tract manifestations are the most commonly reported symptoms in COVID-19, early studies reported a low incidence of typical gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms, such as diarrhea, nausea, vomiting, and even liver dysfunctions. However, The prevalence and prognosis of Gastrointestinal system involvement, including gastrointestinal symptoms and liver injury, remains mostly unknown in patients with COVID-19. We aimed to review the effects of COVID-19 on the GI system. Anorexia was the most frequent digestive symptom in adults (39.9%‐50.2%), and diarrhea was the most frequent symptom in both adults and children.Moreover, vomiting was more common in children. Approximately nine percent of adult patients showed vomiting. Almost 36% of children encounter vomiting; nausea is considered for 15% of children. Gastrointestinal bleeding was presented in more than ten percent of children, while abdominal pain was more frequent in severely ill patients.

Keywords

• diarrhea
• anorexia
• abdominal pain