Covid increasingly affecting gastrointestinal systems

Covid increasingly affecting gastrointestinal systems

Amrita.Didyala@timesgroup.com

Hyderabad:  13.06.2021

Covid-19 is increasingly affecting the gastrointestinal (GI) system with 25%-30% of the Covid-19 patients presenting GI symptoms alone, without any respiratory symptoms and sometimes with a few hours of fever.

In such cases, the virus colonizes in the intestines instead of the lungs and patients continue to have problems in the form of ulcers, pancreatitis and even gangrene post recovery.

“Around 30% of the patients are presenting with GI intestinal symptoms including discomfort, gas formation, bloating, some present with diarrhoea and abdominal pain and do not have any respiratory symptoms. In many of them, even stool examining is showing positive for Covid-19. It shows that the virus is colonizing in the intestines,” said Dr C Madhusudan, head of department of gastroenterology and transplant surgeon, Osmania General Hospital.

Experts advise that being extra vigilant about GI issues now. Gastrointestinal symptoms in Covid patients is however something seen persistently since the first wave.

“The reason we are seeing many more patients present with GI symptoms is due to the overall number of patients having increased during the second wave. Since the second wave has been much more infectious, with increase in overall cases of Covid-19, patients with GI have also been many more now. In at least 1% of these patients, we see pancreatitis,” said Dr M Raja Rao, superintendent, Gandhi Hospital.

While pancreatitis is self limiting and usually improves after a few weeks, ulcers can be treated in a few weeks as well. However, gangrene which occurs due to clot formation in the blood vessels of the intestines, is a life threatening condition and any symptom during or after Covid-19 should not be ignored.