COVID-19 and gastrointestinal manifestations: a cross-sectional study in a tertiary health care centre in Bangalore

Abstract

This is a cross-sectional study involving 144 patients who had tested positive for COVID-19 illness by RT-PCR method, conducted in a tertiary health care center in Bangalore, in May 2021, to know the prevalence of gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations in COVID-19 positive patients. Among the 144 COVID-19 positive patients, 37 patients (25.7%) presented with gastrointestinal manifestations, diarrhea (13%) was the most common symptom, and was present in 19 out of 37 patients (51%). Patients who had gastrointestinal symptoms had a more severe course of the infection manifesting as tachypnea and tachycardia. There have been demonstrations of SARS-CoV-2 viral RNA in stool samples, indicating that the COVID-19 infection can possibly spread by fecal-oral route. Therefore, gastrointestinal symptoms in COVID-19 positive patients should not be dismissed to aid in controlling the spread of the disease.