A recent study showed that 1 in 5 people who tested positive for COVID-19 had at least one gastrointestinal symptom, such as diarrhea, vomiting, or stomach pain. Of those hospitalized, 25.9% had gastrointestinal issues.
“COVID-related abdominal pains are a generalized pain around the middle of the stomach. You might feel sore all around the stomach area,” says ZOE COVID Study.
Stomach pain usually occurs in the first few days of illness and tends to go quite quickly (within one or two days). They also occur along with fever, headache, fatigue, sore throat, and loss of smell.
COVID-19 patients diagnosed with gastrointestinal symptoms also had an adverse outcome and increased risk of death compared to those without the symptoms.
This underscores the need to evaluate GI symptoms as a potential presentation of COVID-19, before the development of respiratory symptoms.
COVID-19 disrupts angiotensin-converting enzyme 2 (ACE2) activity and infects the intestinal epithelium by inducing cytotoxicity, resulting in gastrointestinal symptoms.
When COVID-19 particles leave an infected cell, it triggers the release of cytokines, small proteins that play a role in inflammation. This process may cause gastrointestinal symptoms.
Though COVID-19 is mainly characterized by respiratory tract manifestations, gastrointestinal symptoms should not be neglected.
Source: Medindia
