Gastrointestinal Symptoms Onset in COVID-19 Patients in Wuhan, China
Article 2020 en
Authors
PA
Ping An
HC
Hongbin Chen
HR
Haixia Ren
Abstract
1 min read
Early detection is critical in limiting the spread of 2019 novel coronavirus (COVID-19). Although previous data revealed characteristics of GI symptoms in COVID-19, for patients with only GI symptoms onset, their diagnostic process and potential transmission risk are still unclear. We retrospectively reviewed 205 COVID-19 cases from January 16 to March 30, 2020, in Renmin Hospital of Wuhan University. All patients were confirmed by virus nuclei acid tests. The clinical features and laboratory and chest tomographic (CT) data were recorded and analyzed. A total of 171 patients with classic symptoms (group A) and 34 patients with only GI symptoms (group B) were included. In patients with classical COVID-19 symptoms, GI symptoms occurred more frequently in severe cases compared to non-severe cases (20/43 vs. 91/128, respectively, p < 0.05). In group B, 91.2% (31/34) patients were non-severe, while 73.5% (25/34) patients had obvious infiltrates in their first CT scans. Compared to group A, group B patients had a prolonged time to clinic services (5.0 days vs. 2.6 days, p < 0.01) and a longer time to a positive viral swab normalized to the time of admission (6.9 days vs. 3.3 days, respectively, p < 0.01). Two patients in group B had family clusters of SARS-CoV-2 infection. Patients with only GI symptoms of COVID-19 may take a longer time to present to healthcare services and receive a confirmed diagnosis. In areas where infection is rampant, physicians must remain vigilant of patients presenting with acute gastrointestinal symptoms and should do appropriate personal protective equipment.
Lew Lim, Nazanin Hosseinkhah, Mark Van Buskirk, Andrea Berk, Genane Loheswaran, Zara Abbaspour, Mahta Karimpoor, Alison Smith, Yoke N. Au, Kai F Ho, Abhiram Pushparaj, Michael Zahavi, Alexander White, Jonathan Rubine, Brian Zidel, Christopher Henderson, Russell Gene Clayton, David Roy Tingley, David J. Miller, Mahroo Karimpoor, Michael R Hamblin
Lew Lim, Nazanin Hosseinkhah, Mark Van Buskirk, Andrea Berk, Genane Loheswaran, Zara Abbaspour, Mahta Karimpoor, Alison Smith, Kai Fai Ho, Abhiram Pushparaj, Michael Zahavi, Alexander White, Jonathan Rubine, Brian Zidel, Christopher Henderson, Russell Gene Clayton, David Roy Tingley, David Miller, Mahroo Karimpoor, Michael R Hamblin
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