COVID-19 and Digestive System in Children: A Retrospective Study

Area of Science:

• Pediatrics
• Infectious Diseases
• Hepatology

Background:

• COVID-19 infection can present with various symptoms in children.
• Gastrointestinal (GI) and liver involvement are potential manifestations of viral infections.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify gastrointestinal and liver injury presentations in pediatric patients with COVID-19.
• To analyze the relationship between GI/liver symptoms and respiratory involvement in pediatric COVID-19 cases.

Main Methods:

• Retrospective study of children with suspected COVID-19 symptoms admitted to Amirkola Children's Hospital.
• Evaluation of clinical manifestations in digestive and respiratory systems.
• Assessment of liver function tests, including alanine aminotransferase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST).

Main Results:

• Eighteen children were included in the study.
• Common symptoms included fever, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, cough, diarrhea, and abdominal pain.
• Elevated ALT (27.8%) and AST (38.9%) were observed; direct bilirubin was raised in icteric cases. No significant relationship was found between pulmonary lesions and abnormal liver enzymes.

Conclusions:

• Severe clinical GI symptoms were not observed in pediatric COVID-19 patients.
• Increased liver enzymes in children with COVID-19 did not correlate with more severe respiratory involvement.