GI symptoms in COVID-19 more prevalent than previously reported

There appears to be a higher prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) symptoms in hospitalized patients with COVID-19 than previously reported, reveals a recent study.

Of note, systemic and respiratory symptoms are usually associated with GI complaints, while nausea may continue even after the resolution of COVID-19 infection.

A team of investigators conducted a prospective, multicentre, controlled study to examine the prevalence of GI symptoms, factors associated with their occurrence, and variation at 1 month. They recruited patients with and without COVID-19 diagnosis at hospital admission and asked them for GI symptoms using the validated Gastrointestinal Symptom Rating Scale questionnaire.

A total of 2,036 hospitalized patients were identified, of whom 871 (575 tested positive and 296 negative for COVID-19) were included for the primary analysis.

GI symptoms more often occurred among COVID-19 patients compared with controls (59.7 percent vs 43.2 percent; p<0.001). Patients with COVID-19 also complained of greater presence or intensity of nausea, diarrhoea, loose stools, and urgency than controls.

The presence or intensity of GI symptoms observed in COVID-19 patients at hospital admission decreased at 1-month follow-up. However, nausea remained higher over the control group. Nausea persistence in patients with COVID-19 was significantly associated with the following factors: female sex, high body mass index, presence of dyspnoea, and increased C-reactive protein levels.

“GI symptoms in COVID-19 have been reported with great variability and without standardization,” the investigators said.