Background: Patients with coronavirus infectious disease 2019 (COVID-19) and gastrointestinal symptoms showed increased values of fecal calprotectin (FC). Additionally, bowel abnormalities were a common finding during abdominal imaging of individuals with COVID-19 despite being asymptomatic. The current pilot study aims at evaluating FC concentrations in patients without gastrointestinal symptoms. Methods: we enrolled 25 consecutive inpatients with COVID-19 pneumonia, who were admitted without gastrointestinal symptoms and a previous history of inflammatory bowel disease. Results: At admission, 21 patients showed increased FC with median values of 116 (87.5; 243.5) mg/kg despite absent gastrointestinal symptoms. We found a strong positive correlation between FC and D-Dimer (r = 0.745, p < 0.0001). Two patients developed bowel perforation. Conclusion: our findings may change the current understanding of COVID-19 intestinal-related disease pathogenesis, shedding new light on the potential role of thrombosis and the consequent hypoxic intestinal damage.
【저자키워드】 COVID-19, SARS-CoV-2, thrombosis, D-dimer, Ischemia, fecal calprotectin, bowel perforation, 【초록키워드】 coronavirus, Pneumonia, Infectious disease, Inflammatory bowel disease, Asymptomatic, Patient, Admission, calprotectin, gastrointestinal symptoms, Concentration, fecal, Inpatient, disease pathogenesis, pilot study, positive correlation, abnormality, median value, Gastrointestinal symptom, bowel, intestinal, hypoxic, enrolled, Two patient, individuals with COVID-19, with COVID-19, 【제목키워드】 Gastrointestinal, damage, with COVID-19,