This is how the coronavirus works on the intestines. Even half of those infected have symptoms

Gastrointestinal complications may occur in up to 50% of patients. infected with coronavirus. Sometimes they precede the onset of other COVID-19 related symptoms, such as respiratory symptoms. What exactly happens to patients, what symptoms do they experience? Explains the gastrologist prof. Agnieszka Mądro from the Department of Gastroenterology of the Independent Public Clinical Hospital No. 4 in Lublin.

1. Gastrointestinal complaints may occur in up to 50% of patients. infected with coronavirus – says gastrologist prof. Agnieszka Mądro
2. Patients most often suffer from nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, and lack of appetite. These symptoms may precede other ailments, incl. those related to the respiratory system
3. There is also a correlation between the severity of diarrhea and the course of COVID-19 – notes Prof. Wise. In the case of severe diarrhea, patients more often require a respirator
4. Complications from the digestive system can also occur in the course of the so-called long covid. What happens to the patients then?
5. More information can be found on the TvoiLokony home page

Gastrointestinal complications in COVID-19. What is happening to the patients?

Prof. Agnieszka Mądro from SPSK4 in Lublin emphasizes that gastrointestinal complaints in the course of COVID-19 are mainly nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and lack of appetite. – These symptoms may appear in up to 50 percent. infected with the coronavirus. Sometimes they precede – by several days to two weeks – the appearance of other symptoms, e.g. respiratory symptoms. This applies especially to infections with the delta variant – emphasizes the specialist.

The gastrologist points out that there is also a correlation between the degree of severity diarrheaand the course of COVID-19. – With severe diarrhea, patients, unfortunately, more often require a respirator, must be artificially ventilated.

Prof. Agnieszka Mądro admits that people infected with SARS-CoV-2 who develop pneumonia require antibiotic therapy, which may result in the emergence of infection with the bacterium Clostridioides difficile. It, in turn, leads to pseudomembranous enteritis, which is also manifested by diarrhea. – Treatment of this infection is very difficult and in a patient with COVID-19 it clearly worsens the prognosis. My experience from working in the covid ward shows that, unfortunately, a large proportion of patients – even up to 20 percent. – were those who had revealed infection with the bacterium Clostridioides difficile – said the gastroenterologist.

Gastrointestinal complications in long COVID-19. The most common symptoms

Digestive system ailments may also be the long-term consequences of the COVID-19 disease itself or the effects of its treatment. It is primarily abdominal pain, disturbances in bowel movements (diarrhea, constipation), a tendency to bloating the abdomen. – In such patients, we can recognize the so-called irritable bowel syndrome or the so-called excessive growth of the bacterial flora of the small intestine. These two diseases can also overlap, it is clinically difficult to distinguish them, a lot of research is needed – added Prof. Wise.

She pointed out that Mental deterioration may also contribute to worsening gastrointestinal symptomswhich quite often occurs in the infected subjected to isolation, because they do not tolerate the disease without contact with their relatives.

She emphasized that during COVID-19 disease, there are also laboratory abnormalities in relation to the gastrointestinal tract. – Up to 30 percent of patients have an increase in liver enzymes which is often correlated with high fever. There is also an increased level of pancreatic enzyme activity (serum amylase and lipase) without a diagnosed acute pancreatitis – noted the gastrologist.

“People can’t help themselves”

At the covid ward established at SPSK No. 4 in Lublin, prof. Agnieszka Mądro worked for over a year (from March 2020 to May 2021). – I worked in the ward from the beginning of the pandemic until the end of the third wave. The department created in our hospital was dedicated to patients with COVID-19 who at the same time require other highly specialized procedures, e.g. neurosurgical, cardiosurgical, ENT and vascular operations. These were patients, for example, after removal of an intracerebral hematoma, after kidney transplants, after strokes or cirrhosis of the liver, who required multidisciplinary care – the doctor noted.

As she added, she is sorry that some people did not draw conclusions from previous waves and decided not to vaccinate against COVID-19, which means that people in severe conditions continue to go to hospitals. – While I was working in the covid ward, patients could not yet have any influence on protection against the disease, because there were no vaccines. Now we have access to them, yet so many people do not want to use them. Hence the deep sadness in me that people cannot help themselves – added prof. Agnieszka Mądro.

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PAP / Gabriela Bogaczyk

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