Clinical characteristics of coronavirus disease 2019 patients with diarrhea in Daegu
Min Kyu Kang1, Kyeong Ok Kim1, Min Cheol Kim1
1Department of Internal Medicine, Yeungnam University College of Medicine, Daegu, Korea.
Insights
Diarrhea affected 45.8% of Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) patients and was a common symptom. Despite less severe features, diarrhea did not correlate with disease severity or mortality in COVID-19 patients.
Area of Science:
- Infectious Diseases
- Gastroenterology
- Internal Medicine
Background:
- Gastrointestinal symptoms, including diarrhea, are reported in Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19).
- Understanding the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with diarrhea is crucial for patient management.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients presenting with diarrhea.
- To compare clinical outcomes between COVID-19 patients with and without diarrhea.
- To identify prognostic factors for disease severity and mortality in COVID-19.
Main Methods:
- A cohort of 118 COVID-19 patients was analyzed.
- Clinical characteristics, laboratory data, treatment, and outcomes were compared between patients with and without diarrhea.
- Multivariate and Cox regression analyses were performed to assess risk factors for septic shock and mortality.
Main Results:
- Diarrhea was observed in 45.8% of COVID-19 patients.
- Patients with diarrhea exhibited less frequent systemic steroid use, intensive care unit admission, septic shock, and acute respiratory distress syndrome.
- No significant differences in hospital stay or mortality were found between groups.
- Age, diabetes, and dyspnea were independent risk factors for septic shock.
- Diabetes and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease were risk factors for mortality.
Conclusions:
- Diarrhea is a common symptom in COVID-19 patients.
- While diarrhea may be associated with less severe clinical features, it was not linked to overall disease severity or mortality.
- Identifying risk factors like age, diabetes, dyspnea, and COPD is important for predicting severe outcomes in COVID-19.
Background/Aims:
Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can reportedly cause gastrointestinal symptoms. Therefore, we investigated the clinical characteristics of COVID-19 patients with diarrhea.
Methods:
We included 118 COVID-19 patients admitted to a single hospital from February 20 to March 31, 2020. Medical records with clinical characteristics, laboratory data, treatment course, and clinical outcomes were compared based on the presence or absence of diarrhea. Prognostic factors for disease severity and mortality in COVID-19 were also assessed.
Results:
Among patients, 54 (45.8%) had diarrhea, whereas seven (5.9%) had only diarrhea. The median age of patients with diarrhea was 59 years (44 to 64), and 22 (40.7%) were male. Systemic steroid use, intensive care unit admission, septic shock, and acute respiratory distress syndrome were less frequent in the diarrhea group than in the non-diarrhea group. No significant differences were observed in total hospital stay and mortality between groups. On multivariate analysis, age (odds ratio [OR], 1.06; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.01 to 1.12; p = 0.044), diabetes (OR, 3.00; 95% CI, 1.25 to 20.47; p = 0.042), and dyspnea (OR, 41.19; 95% CI, 6.60 to 823.16; p < 0.001) were independent risk factors for septic shock. On Cox regression analysis, diabetes (hazard ratio [HR], 4.82; 95% CI, 0.89 to 26.03; p = 0.043) and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (HR, 16.58; 95% CI, 3.10 to 88.70; p = 0.044) were risk factors for mortality.
Conclusion:
Diarrhea was present in 45.8% of patients and was a common symptom of COVID-19. Although patients with diarrhea showed less severe clinical features, diarrhea was not associated with disease severity or mortality.
More Related Videos
Related Concept Videos
01:18Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Antimicrobials as Antidiarrheal Agents
01:20Drugs Affecting GI Tract Motility: Adsorbents as Antidiarrheal Agents
Adsorbents...
01:30Irritable Bowel Syndrome II: Clinical Features and Diagnostic Evaluation
Irritable Bowel Syndrome (IBS) is classified into subtypes based on the predominant bowel habits as determined by the Bristol Stool Form Scale (BSFS). The subtypes are:
01:17Drugs for Treatment of Diarrhea-Predominant IBS
Two specific drugs used in the treatment are alosetron (Lotronex) and eluxadoline (Viberzi). Alosetron, a 5-HT3 antagonist, works by slowing the movement of stools in the gut, reducing bowel...
01:30Inflammatory Bowel Disease II: Crohn's Disease
Inflammatory bowel disease, commonly known as IBD, refers to a collection of disorders that lead to persistent inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. The two types of IBD are ulcerative colitis, which impacts the colon, and Crohn's disease, which can involve any part of the gastrointestinal segment.
Crohn's disease
Crohn's disease is a chronic, systemic inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) that predominantly affects the gastrointestinal tract. It is marked by...
01:17Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...