Loading...
Although the predominant symptoms of COVID-19 are respiratory, gastrointestinal (GI) manifestations can occur and may be overlooked. Researchers in Hong Kong assessed clinical data from a cohort of patients with COVID-19 and conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 60 studies with data on GI symptoms (4243 patients) and 11 with data on stool viral RNA.
Among the 59 patients in the Hong Kong cohort (median age, 58), 25% had GI symptoms, most commonly diarrhea and abdominal pain. Although all patients with GI symptoms had fever, 54% did not have a cough. Stool viral RNA was positive in 15% of all 59 patients at presentation and in 9% of the 44 without GI symptoms.
In the meta-analysis, pooled prevalence of GI manifestations was 18%. T…